Jump Note
by Cosplay
Summary: Kyoko is starting to become aware especially when she stars in a film that makes her see things from Ren's perspective. Lots of people appear and interfere in various ways. 1st Fan Fiction. T to be on the safe side.
1. Chapter 1

Jump Note

Chapter One

Ren sat poised every inch a model. He had a slight smile of happy contentment on his face which was enough to cause some of the newbie actresses in the audition hall to become flustered and check their makeup. Underneath the façade, however, was a nervous Kuon.

"This is a huge affair; I can't believe Director Hielberg is going to audition all these people." Yashiro exclaimed, awed as he gazed around the massive hall.

Ren had to agree but couldn't bring himself to vocalise it. _Damn what good are stage nerves? Get a grip. You're not the 13 year old boy he fired, you're an experienced actor. You managed Katsuki, Cain and BJ; you can manage this._

"I still can't believe the director who gave Hizuri Kuu his American debut is planning on producing a film with an entirely Japanese cast for International release," Yashiro continued reverently, and he was not the only one who whispered to a colleague about the incredible nature of the film and the possibilities to which being cast might lead.

_Like acknowledgment that I am Hizuri Kuu's equal and can return to my real name._ Ren desperately hoped he'd get cast in this film and if he did, by using all the skills he'd honed over the past six years and his acceptance of some of the darker elements of his previous being, he could proudly announce himself to the world. But he struggled when he remembered the director's face when he'd given him the boot with his aviator sunglasses, goatee and sneer - all those years ago.

"When's he going to arrive?" Yashiro was practically jumping up and down trying to look for any movement at the door to indicate the famous director's entrance. The mental image of a chibi Yashiro jumping up and down in excitement was amusing enough to draw Ren out of his thoughts enough to tease Yashiro

"Do you even know what he looks like?" he asked.

"Oh course I do. I'm your manager I make a point of researching anyone you may have contact with in a professional or even social setting. You have no idea how hard I work, you just think I'm a baka manager who's always making unnecessary alterations to your schedule so you can have a pathetically small amount of time with the woman you love." Ren couldn't argue that there had been many occasions recently when he had thought that but his train of thought was interrupted once more by Yashiro.

"…Speak of the devil."

Ren snapped his head at Yashiro and then the direction he was looking. He spotted her easily as she walked slowly with perfect poise chatting happily with her friend Kotonami-san. He noticed that Kyoko was absent-mindedly pushing some stray hair, which was getting longer and even more tempting to reach out and touch, behind her ear.

"You face is slipping," came the smug sardonic comment, Yashiro tried and failed to contain his glee at Kyoko's presence and the effect it had on his talent who two years earlier hadn't been anywhere near as fun. He had great hopes for this film for Ren's personal as well as professional future now, it was obvious that sooner or later Kyoko would figure out his feelings and if they were able to spend more time together so much the better. _All I have to do is gently give Kyoko encouragement and make sure Ren doesn't miss any opportunities._ True to his purpose, Yashiro called out straight away, half hoping Ren wouldn't be able to fix his face in time. After everything he'd been put through recently he had to get his own back on Ren in some small way.

"Kyoko-chan, Kotonami-san you're auditioning as well, that's brilliant." Yashiro said beaming at them

Struggling to straighten his face into something that wouldn't have the love of his life running away from him, as if he'd just told her she'd been requested to single-handedly rearrange Lory's wardrobe, took longer than it used to. Their time together as siblings and his breakdown caused by Kuon and BJ meant he relaxed too much around her. The result of this prolonged gaze of adoration was several women fainting and a few guys questioning their own sexual orientation. But more worryingly, for Ren at least, was the look Kotonami-san returned and the protective arm she placed on Kyoko.

Kanae shielded her first best friend and rival from her main competitor for her Kyoko's affections but dutifully followed Kyoko to meet the two men.

"Hello Yukihito-san, Tsuruga-san," was Kyoko's enthusiastic response. She was glad she was able to see Tsuruga-san so soon after the conclusion of her Dangerous Mission. She'd been worried at the aura around him when she'd first entered, he'd seemed down and his smile was most definitely fake. But by the time she reached him he was in a better mood, like he'd had a nice thought or seen something to make him happy and that simple fact made her happy. _Although I really wish I didn't have to audition for Sarah-hime _(use of princess title again to reduce dislike and improve creative ability) _I'm glad it meant I got to see Re…Tsuruga-san today._

"Who are you auditioning for Mogami-san?" Ren asked gently, curious and for the simple joy of hearing her voice. The response to this question was curious even by Kyoko's standard. Those who have the sight and are finely attuned to the ethereal level would have firstly seen Demon Kyokos emerge from her aura which had turned dark and swirl around their host menacingly then attach their host with looks of pure self-disgust. Then gradually fading under a faint but resolute light from Kyoko's heart, which had a similar quality to the light emitted by Ren's true smile, soothing the aura's colour until pink. Then suddenly her aura turned off and the process had reached an end. Visible to those present was Kyoko depressed, angry and bitter turning slowly into ecstatic then immediately becoming mature and business-like.

"I'm audition for Sarah" was her calm, dispassionate response, "and Moko-san is auditioning for Cara's manager Yana." The opportunity to praise her beloved Moko-san meant the loss of the calm tone; Kyoko was immediately excited and continued brightly "Who are you going to play Tsuruga-san? Ben?" She smiled happily, interested in the opportunity to learn more from her respected sempai.

Ren, concerned over Kyoko's attitude to her character merely gave a slight nod of acknowledgment to her question before remembering what he could about Sarah. The plot of Jump Note was long and complex. It was based on the story of Ben, who is used and betrayed by his childhood love and consequently loses his sense of identity and belief in love or loyalty. He then finds all his missing emotions in the music business where he gains popularity and a true love. There was also a slowly developing love story between him and Cara a prominent musician who guides him professionally and personally. Jump Note had a large worldwide following, obvious from the internet with forums and fan fiction stories where the main characters were brought together in various ways due to reader frustration at the length of time and number of chapters required for development. Especially for the love story as both characters have to overcome their many insecurities before they can become a couple. It had taken 75 chapters before Ben realised Cara didn't truly hate him and then a further 70 chapters before there was a kiss. Then the kiss didn't even occur between Ben and Cara, but Sarah the childhood friend who'd thrown him away and broken Ben's heart returned to lay claim to him through a kiss…

Kyoko knew the moment Ren realised the similarities between her character and a certain jointly disliked spiky, blonde-haired musician. Her anger grudge flew happily over to Ren revelling in his malevolence that it hadn't enjoyed in such a long time. She felt uncomfortable, honestly she didn't want to play Sarah but she knew better than to be picky about characters; hadn't Hizuri Kuu, who had allowed her to call him Otou-san, told her she should make the best out of every character and not have favourites. Also, despite how much she hated Sarah, it was an incredibly easy character for Kyoko because she had spent almost her whole life with the perfect model albeit he was the wrong gender. She knew why Ren was angry (well not completely but she thought she knew because he knew what Sho had done) but right now she needed his encouragement more than his anger. _I know I probably don't deserve it but if he could just smile or say "Gambatte" *sigh* then it wouldn't seem so bad. _

Ren's mood dropped even further, not only was he uncomfortable with his own audition but now he didn't even want Kyoko to be anywhere near it, especially if she had to play him. _Why are the gods so determined to keep him in her thoughts and bond them together?_ He received no answer to his question, not that he was expecting one, and tried to keep from becoming so depressed that Kyoko would notice. He didn't want her to become upset or worried _although it would be nice to know she cared._

Yashiro aware that something, he wasn't quite sure what, was causing the mood to be somewhat strained, plunged into conversation with Kyoko to try and improve Ren's relationship with her even if his efforts weren't always appreciated.

"Isn't it great you'll be able to work together with Ren again publically so soon Kyoko-chan?" Kanae suddenly looked at Yashiro piercingly making him falter and add

"Also you'll be able to work with Kotonami-san and the famous Director Hielberg." He quickly glanced to see if he'd manage to appease Kanae; he hadn't.

Kanae had, out of a deep concern for her friend and a reasonable distrust of Lory, demanded Kyoko say what her Dangerous Mission was. Kyoko sworn to secrecy hadn't said anything but assured Kanae she was perfectly safe. Still with misgivings she'd gone to Lory, he hadn't said explicitly but had hinted that a certain sempai was keeping Kyoko safe. Kanae frowned deeply that not only Ren had recently possibly been spending more time with Kyoko than she had, but that Yashiro seemed to know more than her. _Alright, that's it I will get Kyoko to tell me, I'll just threaten to cut all ties with her she's never been able to refuse that one. How can a manager know more than a first best friend?_ Of course Kanae would never truly break her ties with Kyoko or end their friendship, unless Kyoko decided to end her career to become a plain boring housewife, but Kyoko took unusual and sometimes extreme handling.

"Of course it would be great if I could work with Tsuruga-san and Moko-san again. I respect them both so much and I can learn so much from watching them perform. But I may not pass the audition, after all it is Director Hielberg and I'm only a lowly newcomer." Yashiro and Kanae immediately told her not to be silly and gave her encouragement. Yashiro expected Ren to comfort her, he did not expect:

"You're right to be nervous Mogami-san, despite your success in Dark Moon and Box-R Director Hielberg is not a man to be easily impressed or swayed by public opinion. Before now he's fired many big name actors who he didn't think were up to scratch even though their presence in the movie would have guaranteed box office sales. He'll expect a lot from the company Hizuri Kuu came from before he went to America." Ren's own nerves, or Kuon's he couldn't separate them so definitively anymore, caused him to be unnaturally harsh in his appraisal of the situation. He caught sight of Kyoko's frightened face and cursing himself tried to come up with some comforting words, but he had none.

As soon as he'd started speaking Kyoko recognised the aura that surrounded him, it was like the one surrounding him after all the NGs in Dark Moon, like when he'd first met Bo and tried to recall all the times he was fired. For some reason his mood upset her even more now. She feared he might break under his own pressure, it made her desperate to speak comforting words to him, words she thought she'd lost the ability to say when Sho threw her away.

"You aren't just a famous name with which tickets can be sold for some third rate film or tv show to boost ratings. You're Tsuruga Ren, you're the best actor in Japan and one of the best in the world. You can play any character you put your mind to, any problem you face you overcome, your portrayal of Katsuki is one of the reasons Dark Moon overcame the original. I may only be your lowly kohai but I know that I want to emulate your ability and professionalism as do most people in this room. You're incredible Tsuruga-san, you fly high above the rest of us, if you can't pass this audition none of us stand a chance and Director Hielberg isn't as good as everyone thinks he is."

He had to ask, her praise almost made him believe he could fly like Corn but he was still tied down, caught in his father's hands

"Who do you thinks is better Kyoko?" his desperation for the answer made him forget that Tsuruga Ren would never use her name so informally, especially not in front of Kanae and Yashiro as an audience but Kuon had to know before he faced the Director of his nightmares.

"Who's the better actor Kyoko, me or Otou-san?"

She stared at him. W_hy is he calling Otou-san Otou-san? He called him Hizuri Kuu when they met. Oh but he was there when I shouted Outo-san in the airport. _ She was surprised at the question and trying very hard not to blush at his use of her name without honorifics - twice in the space of a minute - replied

"Why do you need to be better or worse than him? After all you're not him; you're different from Otou-san. You're yourself and no amount of comparison between the two Katsuki's is going to change that. You're your own person."

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Hi, this is my first fan fiction and I'm not a 100% confident about my work, so any comments and reviews would be greatly appreciated. Especially given Skip Beat is one of my favourite mangas and I want to do it justice. I don't own anything in regard to the manga although I really wish I could. Thanks for reading :)

P.S My thanks go out to Iris Anthe who has helped edit this and vastly improve its readability given despite having an A level in English I'm still appalling at grammar and punctuation.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Director Hielberg had come to Japan for one reason and one reason only – he was in debt. Yes, he was in the unfortunate position of being indebted to one extremely eccentric, weird, cosplaying, cupid-worshipping, fool of a president. It was this very president who had requested, in a determined and serious manner, (well, as serious as you can be while wearing a Mickey Mouse costume and sitting in front of a widescreen plasma TV with a certain love simulation game paused), that he direct an adaptation of the manga Jump Note.

"…which is a stupid affair, where the characters deny their own and each other's feelings for no good reason. I don't understand why the Japanese are so seemingly pure about first kisses and addressing people informally. And Lory...Lory's even worse than the female characters in this blasted thing." He spluttered angrily to his personal assistant, hitting the script in his hands as they walked down the corridor.

Tina, his assistant, said nothing, she knew it was the best policy when it came to her boss. The attractive woman in her late twenties with short blonde hair sighed internally; she had spent the last four years with Director Hielberg and knew his ticks all too well. She could see his point about Lory, after her first meeting with him dressed as a lion tamer-with a real lion-she didn't think he was normal either. But she couldn't with Hielberg's opinion that Jump Note was without potential, when it really could be something quite brilliant if he bothered to appreciate it. Unfortunately, Tina suspected that this wasn't going to happen soon, and resigned herself to the thought that he was going to do a poor job of everything and be overtly cruel to all the actors-especially those auditioning from Lory's company-just to vent steam.

With nothing left to distract him from the job at hand, she showed him into the full audition hall, which became silent upon their entrance. One of the department managers introduced him and Tina took her seat at the back of the hall, behind and to the left of her boss. She took the opportunity to watch the crowd, many of whom stared at the Director in awe. A particular group caught her eye; it consisted of two men in their twenties and two older teenage girls. One of the girls was typically pretty, tall, thin, long black hair, aesthetically...she could play Cara.

_Although..._Tina reasoned, _her beauty is amplified by the fact that the girl closest to her isn't particularly attractive_. Looking at the smaller of the two girls Tina changed her statement, being the kind of person that always tried to see past the outer appearance to the personality within, regardless of the Hollywood elite she often dealt with. _It's not that she doesn't have appeal...it's just that she seems to be more cute than attractive; the type that might still believe in Santa._ Looks-wise she would, Tina reckoned, be well suited playing Cara's bumbling friend, or the cousin that Ben rescued from self-loathing.

Having characterised the girls, her attention was then drawn to the men. In just a glance she recognised that only one of them was an actor, the other she realised must be his manager, the slightly shorter of the men poured over the other's work schedule and glanced at his watch every now and then. As a fellow worker, Tina found herself strangely drawn to him, amused by the presence of the gloves poking out of his suit pocket, curious as to their purpose. She then turned her eyes to the actor beside him and, taking in his appearance, she-like every woman before her-became highly impressed with his looks. Noticing his height, she vaguely remembered a conversation she'd had with a Japanese woman earlier-in order to improve her command of the language-regarding an extremely tall, handsome and exceptional actor... She smiled a weak smile. _He better be as good as they say...if he's to give Director Hielberg the motivation he needs..._

-x-

Director Henry Hielberg was bored; he didn't want to be in Japan or be doing anything related to this film-except maybe sneer at Lory's strange obsessions. When people are bored they can either find something to amuse themselves with, or become annoyed. Unfortunately, Hielberg always chose the latter, and when he did, every little thing started to irritate him. You name it, he was complaining about it. The room was too hot, too crowded. The people were too friendly, too shy. The water tasted strange, nobody laughed at his one good Japanese joke...It was maddening. Lacking a sufficient distraction, he retreated further into his bad mood and decided to make everyone feel as miserable as he was. Standing tall, he addressed the crowd in English-just to rub them up the wrong way.

"You should all have memorised the scripts you were given, so I expect no mess ups. If anyone hasn't memorised the script, they can leave now."

He stared pointedly at all of them.

No one moved. Some couldn't understand English, while others were too frightened or ashamed to admit that he was right. Hielberg took gratification in the fear he inspired in practically all of their faces.

_You forced me to do this film Lory...and I'm going to make you-and your actors-pay for it._

"We are going to start from the beginning of the film and you will play your character until I say otherwise. Whether that's one second or the entire audition time is not my problem. Those not performing will stay on the sides, ready to step in when the other person performing the character you are auditioning for fails. Now, get into the groups for the characters you're auditioning for."

To say that those who were taking part in the audition were perturbed or anxious would be a very large understatement, equal possibly to saying that Hizuri Kuu had a 'moderate' appetite. At the end of Director Hielberg's speech, some people did just leave the room. The others did as they were told, silently and quickly moving into their groups, not wishing to damage their chances by speaking out of turn. At the back of the hall Tina started massaging her head to try and get rid of the headache caused by her mounting tension.

_Well, this is going to be fun._ She thought sarcastically.

-x-

Kyoko was panicking now-seriously panicking. She'd understood every word Director Hielberg had said and she was nervous. Her nerves were made all the worse by the fact that none of the other actresses who were trying out for Sarah had decided to stay, not when they saw the competition. In the grand scheme of things, Kyoko should've taken this as a compliment to her ability-that the other actresses didn't feel confident enough to go against her-but their absence just made her concerned, not flattered. In fact, some of them had even whispered, 'if Kyoko can't do it then we don't stand a chance', a touching sentiment but one filled with an enormous amount of pressure. As a result of this bizarre turn of events, she now had no other choice but to stay as Sarah for the whole of the audition process, whether Director Hielberg approved of her or not. And she was pretty sure he'd get vocal if he didn't. She gulped, wondering whether it was possible to be more afraid of him than she was of Ren after she'd changed her hairstyle for Mio. Desperately wishing she'd brought Corn with her, she tried to calm herself.

-x-

From the other side of the room, Ren watched Kyoko in concern, spotting the lack of Sarah candidates and her troubled face. Unlike her, many people were auditioning for his role-Ben-and they were all to perform before him, secretly hoping that if they performed well enough he wouldn't have the chance to audition; unwittingly giving him the perfect opportunity to shape himself into the kind of Ben Hielberg wanted. _But Kyoko..._ He fought the urge to go over there and hold her until all her fears vanished. He wanted to give her the peace of mind and happiness she'd managed to give him just a few moments ago. _Hell, I just want to see her smile at me. I'm really that simple._

To be told he was different from his father had made him feel so free...Although he'd said it himself to Director Ogata before, to be told by someone else, by **her**, who worships the ground her 'Otou-san' walks on, felt so…good. Thinking back to that moment he couldn't stop his mood from dropping slightly. In his desperation to hear what she'd thought, not only had he called Hizuri Kuu, 'Otou-san' accidentally, he'd also called her 'Kyoko'. _Two mistakes in one go...I should be surprised she hasn't been startled into a corner like a woodland animal by now..._

Despite these slight misgivings, Ren couldn't stop the feeling of unwavering happiness deep down inside, his joy at her belief in him. He'd wanted nothing more at that moment than to confess that he was Corn and fly away with her somewhere-take her in his arms and…_and what, tell her you want to marry her? She's still a LoveMe girl for a reason. And do you really want to ruin one of the few memories from her past that cheers her up when she's sad?_ Ren stared at Kyoko for so long that she actually noticed, regardless of her worries, and looked over at him. He caught her eye and smiled, desperately wanting her to smile back. When she did...he felt like he could do anything.

-x-

Director Hielberg got everyone's attention by banging his mug against the table-not that it was needed-and the room turned deathly quiet.

"Beginners..." was all he said, before sitting down, thoroughly bored already.

The first scene seemed to take an age and was an extremely uncomfortable experience for all the actors. Hielberg stopped it frequently, speaking harsh words to all those 'onstage' without a second thought. One woman auditioning for Cara actually burst into tears and ran out of the room. Finally, scene one was over and almost half of the actors auditioning for the roles of Ben and Cara had gone. The second scene required Sarah, so Kyoko breathed in, let go of herself, and slipped into a whole new person.

The scene began.

Sarah sashayed into the dressing room alongside her manager, (a stand in from Hielberg's entourage as the character was too minor for this set of auditions) and sat down, lazily yet seductively. She looked her manager up and down in appreciation, remembering the way he'd looked earlier that morning in bed. She glanced at her phone and noticed a voice message. She put it on speaker so she could start packing her things for the night.

"Sarah, I'm sorry for what I said last night, but I didn't mean it that way…What I want to say Sarah, is that you're incredible...and I understand that...even if others are too blind to see it. You're number one for…"

She scoffed and cut off the message before putting her mobile into her bag and settling herself down into the arms of her manager.

"Honestly...he says all that like his opinion matters," she laughed.

"He's spent the last two years working god knows how many jobs to support you. Shouldn't you lay off him a bit?" her manager replied.

Smiling at his naivety, Sarah explained the situation, her remorse non existent.

"Are you suggesting that I, who was raised sheltered and privileged, should come to Tokyo on my own with no one to support me?" she asked.

"It sounds like you brought him here for financial support rather than moral."

Her manager still didn't sound convinced. Sighing with annoyance at having to ruin her mood by talking about her unattractive-but convenient-childhood friend, Sarah said, exasperatedly, "There's no 'like' about it. It's always been that way ever since we were kids. He's my butler…"

"CUT!"

Kyoko froze. _Oh no...I've failed, haven't I? I won't be able to work with Moko-san and Re…Tsuruga-san again after all..._

"You, boy. Whatever-your-name-is, playing Ben. What kind of facial expression is that? She's basically saying you're nothing after you've spent your whole life worshipping the ground she walks on-and that's the best expression you can give me?"

Kyoko looked at the offending facial expression, now frozen on the poor actor's face from fear of Hielberg's wrath. Sure, he looked upset, but his face had none of the shock or devastation she'd felt when Sho..._Baka, baka, baka!_ she thought, mentally slapping herself, _don't think of him right now! Do you want to ruin everything?_ She peered over at Director Hielberg, who was still berating the young actor playing Ben, and watched as he threw his hands up in frustration.

"Useless. Next Ben!"

Hielberg returned to the papers on his desk without saying a word to Kyoko. Taking this as some form of encouragement, she slipped back into Sarah. She began the scene again but wasn't stopped this time, suggesting that whoever was playing the new Ben had managed an expression worthy of the almighty director. Kyoko continued her onstage rant.

"...he's my butler-he's never denied any of my requests, or complained-ever. If he had, I would never have brought him."

Her manager looked at her pointedly, a look she ignored, and continued his own train of thought.

"Now you've made it big, you should let him go and live his own life now."

"Fine," was her reply, but it had been half-hearted. An idea flitted across her mind and she turned to give him her full attention, a lustful smile on her lips, "I'll let him go...but you'll have to make sure I'm well cared for."

"You make it sound like I don't already."

"Well, you're my type-unlike him." She spat out the word 'him' out in disgust, "Honestly, if I hadn't come to Tokyo my parents would've probably forced me to marry that ugly, boring man and take over the restaurant. And I don't want to marry a boy, I just want a man." She pouted seductively and leaned in closer to her manager to claim his lips.

There was a smash as a vase came flying in her direction, spilling flowers as it hit the wall by her head. Alarmed, Sarah broke away from her manager and turned around, her eyes widening upon seeing the figure at the door. Overworked and tired, a scruffy young man stood before her, his expression of utmost betrayal. He looked as though his heart had been torn from his chest and stomped on too many times to count.

"Ben!" Sarah exclaimed, shocked but not the least bit guilty about what she'd done.

"You brought me here, despite thinking I'm ugly and boring, because it was convenient to you?"

Sarah just stared at him, all the words she had to say already said. Ben turned his back on her, shoulders shaking. The gesture alarmed her a little, but she was quick to hide it under her thick, narcissistic armour.

"You're not going to cry on me are you?" she asked, "That's too pathetic."

Ben was looking down-hiccups escaping him-when suddenly he gasped for breath and took hold of himself. A stream of sarcastic yet hurt laughter escaped from him as he stood up straight. Kyoko-threatening to slip out of character-felt her eyes widen as she saw mini-demon Ren's swarm around Ben and hurl themselves towards her.

"I'll get revenge for this...Sunflower."

Sarah bristled at the use of her real name for a moment before looking down, derisively at him.

"You, get revenge on me? How? You can't touch me."

As if to prove her point, security guards appeared in the doorway and restrained Ben, dragging him away. "From now on, I'm going to rise higher than anyone in this business. Higher than Cara-higher than all of them! I'll climb until I'm far, far higher than an ugly, boring person like you could even think of reaching," she screamed after him, "If you really want revenge on me-make it in showbiz. Though we both know how impossible that is for someone like you."

She turned sharply on her heel and walked away from her childhood friend, content.

-x-

Tina stared at Kyoko, then Ren, then Hielberg. _Wow_. She'd heard that the male actor was good but she'd never expected that. As for the girl, Kyoko..._wow. _Tina's usual eloquence failed her she was so much in awe. Even though the scene was over, Kyoko was still in character, lounging against the wall looking like a bratty pampered model. Tina had always been impressed by method actors, but she'd never seen such a young actress so devoted to her craft. She turned her attention back to Hielberg, noticing that, from nowhere, he'd produced a large notepad and was scribbling frantically across it in his large illegible handwriting. She gave a small smile of victory. _Hielberg is on._

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Arigator you to everybody who has read my story, especially those who've reviewed. For this chapter I've tried to work on my punctuation and grammar which as some of you rightly pointed out was poor in the last chapter. I'd like to dedicate this chapter to my friend Caroline who gave this chapter a second set of eyes. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter as well and I'd love to hear from you. :)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Director Hielberg - not that he'd admit it - was impressed. _Lory actually has got some talent here... _he pondered,_ and I thought the old fool had just had a lucky break when it came to Kuu..._ Naturally, he would never pass this thought onto anyone else, but people would probably suspect it as his boredom disappeared, that was for sure. _If this is what those two can manage at an audition…_

Considering their performances Hielberg found himself hungry for more, pretending to be seriously studying the actors' information on his desk in a futile attempt to hide his anticipation for the next scene. From what he actually read, the girl had reasonable experience considering her age, while the boy, well...he seemed to be quite a heavyweight contender in the world of acting. He glanced up at the two of them. The boy was stood ready at the side of the makeshift set, talking quietly to a man Hielberg took to be his manager, while the girl…_where is she..?_ Darting his eyes around the room he spotted her against the wall, still in character, standing next to a tall girl with long black hair - a girl who was undoubtedly an actress, but he was yet to see her audition. Without warning, the taller girl grabbed Kyoko by the shoulders and shook her, almost as if she were shaking the character of Sarah out of her body. Sure enough, the spell seemed to break and the air of confidence disappeared, only to be replaced by a heavy blush. Kyoko's posture collapsed in what looked, surprisingly, like shame.

Snapping his eyes away, Hielberg looked around and noticed people staring at him - wrapped up in the affairs of the two actors, he'd completely forgotten that he was in charge, and that they were expecting orders in regards to the next scene. Embarrassment at his faux pas caused him to speak more gruffly and harshly than he actually meant to.

"What are you waiting for?" he asked, "Next scene! Continue with the same characters."

-x-

Ren's spirit looked to have soared. The very fact that he was still on stage, acting as Ben was proof that he'd done what he wanted to-manage to hold Hielberg's interest. Beside him, Yashiro smiled. _Ren's back on form_! This was an amazing thing after the morning he and Ren had been through - with all the comments Ren was spouting about how difficult the job was going to be for him. Yashiro had never really considered the possibility that Ren could be nervous over an acting job, it was especially surprising that he almost seemed to need the pick me up that only Kyoko could give him. When Ren had asked who was better, himself or Hizuri Kuu, as an onlooker, Yashiro's found his thoughts and emotions flip-flopping all over the place. One the one hand, there was the absurdity of Ren even thinking about something so ridiculous - it was hardly necessary for a man of his talent to be concerned about beating Hizuri Kuu - that made him feel anxious, a little nervous even, but on the other side of things, he couldn't fight hard enough to contain the fan girlish joy and potential flames of moe at hearing his depressed friend calling Kyoko's name without honorific's-twice.

Ah, but then there was the sheer bizarreness of Ren calling Hizuri Kuu 'Otou-san' for no discernible reason...that just sent Yashiro spiralling back into his concern again...until he heard Kyoko's response that is. Maybe the girl did have deeper feelings for Ren than she let on...but on another hand…well...

Poor Yashiro's emotions and thoughts occupied more hands than was physically possible to have, though he knew that if he did, he'd have ditched Ren long ago and joined the circus or something.

_I wonder how much jugglers make..._he wondered.

-x-

While it was clear from his expression that Yashiro was pleased, and just a little bit smug at the day's events, Kanae, however, was concerned and unhappy. Pure jealousy meant that she had decided - with very little evidence - that Ren was nothing more than a playboy, toying with her pure hearted friend's emotions for his own sick kicks. The solution to this? Complete obliteration from the poor girl in question's mind. Truthfully, Kanae had never had any friends before Kyoko - what with never seeing the point in having one - and found herself becoming all too overprotective, in the way a mother hen was to her offspring. Of course, it didn't help her disposition that Kyoko was about as clueless as baby chicks come. Having dragged her back from the possession of Sarah, Kanae had tried - unsuccessfully-to pound Kyoko for information. Needless to say, it didn't work out too well. Knowing that Kyoko was too distracted for a conversation and that she didn't want to raise her voice in front of all the other actors, Kanae leaned in a bit closer. Wondering how she could get her attention, Kanae did one of the most humiliating things ever.

"Kyoko."

The third use of her name without honorifics - from the mouth of her best friend - was more than enough for Kyoko to give her beloved Moko-san her full attention.

"Why did you say all that stuff to Tsuruga-san earlier?" Kanae questioned.

Kyoko thought hard before answering and Kanae was sure she could actually hear the cogs turning inside her head.

"Because...I didn't want him to be nervous." She finally, wistfully whispered.

Kanae stared hard at her friend, more concerned than ever. Slowly but surely, Kyoko was becoming aware, truly aware, of how she really felt about him. Just the fact that she couldn't bear to see him nervous was proof of that. _No!_ A frustrated Kanae thought, _I am not losing my friend to a playboy like him... That guy doesn't deserve her! There's no way I'm going to stick around, on my own in that damn LoveMe section-in that bright pink outfit - while she's rekindling the emotion that isn't necessary as she's got this far without it-with him!_ Kanae glanced down at Kyoko, ready to launch into the assault and immediately felt a twinge of guilt. For all the parts of her that wanted to say those things, there was always a little bit that went against it. Truth be told, she wanted to see Kyoko get her missing emotion back - the girl really deserved it - but she wasn't sure that Ren was the man she should gain it with. Sure, he was a darn sight better than Sho, Reino or that Kijima guy who'd made the Dark Moon party so awkward for her, but...

"Looks like you succeeded then."

The very small part inside of her somehow managed to push through temporarily to say these words, while the rest contemplated the best way to sabotage Ren.

_Best to have a good balance, _she thought.

-x-

Kyoko stared as her best friend gave her the most honest and comforting words she'd ever spoken. An uncontrollable smile of relief and pleasure blossomed on her face. Across the room, men glancing in their direction seemed to sway a little on the spot, going weak kneed as they snapped their eyes away from the scene and to the two girls. Kyoko wondered if they'd suddenly just realised how pretty Kanae was or something (completely oblivious to the fact that it was due to her, not Kanae), before pulling her eyes away from them. She sighed a sigh of relief. Kanae was right - she had managed to make Tsuruga-san calm down. Freed from the weight of her concern, reality - what she'd actually said to him - squashed her like a ton of bricks.

"Moko-san!" she screamed in a whisper. "How could I have said something so embarrassing? I told him he was flying! That's like calling **the** Tsuruga Ren - a fairy!" She struggled to break her sudden bout of hysteria and babbled on, "And he…he..."

Poor Kyoko couldn't take it, her mind went into melt down when it tried to deal with the information that none other than Tsuruga Ren had called her 'Kyoko', and only, 'Kyoko'.

Kanae realised what was going on in her head and smiled a small victorious smile. She didn't need to say anything to damage Ren's chances, because odds were, Kyoko would do it all herself. Feeling relieved, Kanae turned her attention back to the audition process. It was the scene where Cara and Ben first meet - although, an onbessed otaku would point out that they had met as children, but neither of the characters realised this at this point - and Ren was doing a fine job as the hostile yet broken Ben.

She wished she could say the same for his counter-part.

Pulled in by his charm like all the rest, the actress playing Cara struggled to stay angry at the tall, handsome and flawless Tsuruga Ren, in fact, she was positively battling the urge to swoon. On any other occasion Ren would have altered his acting to give her a chance, but today it seemed like he wasn't compromising his role for anyone.

"CUT."

The inevitable shout came and Cara was replaced by another actress. By the end of the scene Cara had been played by six different actresses and there was only one more left.

-x-

Inoue Yoko smirked as she realised that she was the only actress left to play Cara. She revelled in the jealous glares following her up to the stage, her eyes darting past the jilted actresses to the man she'd be performing alongside in the film. Not only was the best part in the movie now on a glittering silver plate before her, but she'd also won the chance of a lifetime - hours of filming with Japan's Sexiest Man. _Mine, all mine_...were her possessive thoughts as she stepped in front of Director Hielberg for her audition.

-x-

Everybody, which included those who really should have gone home, or to their next job by now, watched the next scene with a mix of both jealousy and intrigue. As much as the rejected actors and actresses hated the idea that they weren't good enough, they were strangely determined to see how they should have performed their role, hesitant to leave for the fear that they may be missing something great. In an attempt to really test the actors he'd taken an interest in, Hielberg insisted upon skipping to a scene much later on in the manga and film, one he was sure would show off the character facets he needed to choose an actor for definite.

His choice?

The infamous revenge scene of course. Not of Ben's revenge, but Sarah's when she finally realises that he may have a chance in stardom after all. Enraged at the thought of Ben not only progressing in showbiz but also rendezvousing with Cara, Sarah shows up uninvited and steals a kiss from him on Valentine's Day - in front of not only Cara, but her manager and all her band mates.

Kanae cast an anxious glance at Kyoko before getting into her character; this scene was really the last thing she needed after the whole 'Kyoko-with-no-honorific' incident earlier.

-x-

As soon as Kyoko heard that she was going to have to do _that_ scene, she slipped behind the protective armour of Sarah's character, losing her innocent self to a woman who couldn't care less. Her previous roles were really a blessing at times like these - the days living as Setsu helping her to get used to light physical contact with Ren, and her role as Natsu helping her ooze sexiness like it naturally seeped out of her pores. There was no way she could do this as herself.

As much as she disliked it - from a purely professional standpoint of course - 'Kyoko' was still as Kyoko as she could ever be. She herself knew that with her somewhat childlike mentality, no amount of training could ever help her touch Ren in the casual way that he sometimes did to her...Asking for her to give him a kiss in a state like that...well...it was nothing short of cruel - and horrendously impossible, even if it was just supposed to be a quick mocking brush on the lips. Truth of the matter was, she'd never actually initiated a kiss before - let alone one to a man so tall she'd have to crane her neck to do it. She was positive - if she didn't have her other personas to rely on, she'd have collapsed at his feet before she even managed it. She eyed the door, contemplating making a break for it. Disappointment with not getting a role was one thing, but having to act out a scene that was far too close to reality for her all those months ago...

She struggled not to recall that little piece of chocolate and that voice that claimed it back...

_How is it? Hmm? Then...let me taste it too..._

She shook her head and subconsciously covered her mouth, lowering her hands in time to stop Ren from seeing.

She was _not _going to remember that now.

Glancing over at her senpai at the other end of the stage, all Kyoko's desire to flee deserted her. Just the way he stood, confident and prepared evoked an unshakable image of Otou-san, reminding her that, like them, she had to put herself aside and act like a professional. She would not let them down.

Mind set and fully determined to play her part, Kyoko became Sarah.

-x-

_She walked up to him, sly, seductive, pumping out pheromones. It was the walk he'd taught her during an encounter that felt like so long ago - a time he very much wanted to forget the details of and hoped forever to keep from Yashiro's knowledge. He knew exactly what she was doing. Putting aside her usual coyness, Kyoko had dropped into character, and he knew there was nothing there now but Sarah. His head ran through the rationalisations he knew he needed to keep calm. He told himself that this was an entirely different person - a person that smouldered in a way he knew Kyoko wouldn't dare - but he couldn't seem to fully believe it. With just a glance she'd set Kuon free and now...now he wanted her more than ever. _

_Somewhere in his mind the director yelled 'Action!' and he took the plunge. Spouting Ben's lines like a heartbroken yet renewed man, Kuon moved towards her, daring her nearer. Kyoko, drawn in, flocked to his side and began running a finger up and down his chest, her hands ruffling his shirt._

_Inwardly, he groaned with longing._

_Speaking Sarah's lines, she moved in to him - closer than she'd ever been since he'd held her in his arms on his kitchen floor- and he felt her breath brush against his ear. He strained to listen to the words, to hear his cue, but it was useless. Her breathing quickened as an uncertain adrenaline surged through her - the perfect performance of a desperate ex. He waited until she was silent before saying the final few sentences of his role, the big moment approaching as his heart thumped erratically under her hands._

_In a matter of seconds...her lips were his. _

_In that one moment, nothing else mattered. It didn't matter that she was unskilled and a little clumsy on deliverance, it didn't matter how many eyes were witnessing this very moment - he honestly couldn't care less. Vowing to teach her more, he wrapped his arms around her - capturing her, claiming her - and began running his tongue across the bottom of her lips, desperately seeking entry to deepen the kiss to a level he could be satisfied with._

_It was her who had told him that he was different to his father and called him a man who was his own person, flying higher than all the rest. _

_She saw him as a man, he knew she did, and this time he wasn't going to let her rationalise it all away._

_She was going to internalise it, and he didn't care how far he had to go to make sure of that. _

_Kyoko's surprise at the touch of his tongue was all he needed to gain access and start teasing her tongue into responding. His mouth now satisfied, his hands moved to deal with their urges, clasping her body to his as he ran his arms over her figure. Hugging her as tightly as he dared, Kuon did what he'd always secretly longed for, reaching and touching every available inch until he was sure he could've made a perfect to scale replica of her if he so desired. Managing to escape his lips, Kyoko broke away to get air, and Kuon's eyes darted to her flushed face, her sparkling eyes wild. It was too much - resistance was futile. His desire preventing him from breaking away, Kuon tilted her head and began planting tender kisses along her neck, his immature, possessive side encouraging him to mark her pale, virgin skin with his lips. She was his. Kyoko trembled beneath him and her legs gave way, just another reason for him to pull her in even closer. Shaking with his sudden burst of passion, Kuon felt his own legs begin to quake, his excitement and joy at being so close to her reducing him to his knees. Kyoko thudded to the floor before him and he moved to kneel over her, pleased to see that although she wasn't terribly comfortable, she had no qualms with what he was doing. Gliding his hands up her legs he reached the edge of her dress and moved to slide it up and over her..._

"Ren!" Yashiro exclaimed.

Still fully under the impression that he was stripping his beloved in front of a plethora of actors and stage hands, Ren jumped at the sound of his voice and panicked. _What have I done?_

He turned his head to face the no doubt flustered girl and noticed that she'd vanished and that he was still on his feet at the opposite side of the stage from her.

The scene hadn't started yet.

Appalled at what he'd just imagined, Ren shook his head violently - ripping and breaking the daydream in a matter of seconds. After a lot of gulping and an inordinate amount of effort, he managed to drag up his gentlemanly smile and address his manager.

"Yes?" he asked, trying to seem much calmer than he actually felt, "What is it Yashiro?"

Deeply concerned by the quite frankly lustful expression that flickered across Ren's face, only moments ago; Yashiro gazed up at him, full of unspoken questions, before repeating himself.

"You need to get into character, you're about to start."

Ren nodded and Yashiro breathed a short sigh of relief. He'd never seen Ren this distracted before, and it was making him a little anxious. He'd watched in silence as the man stared in the poor girl's direction for what felt like an age, Ren's facial expression becoming more and more desperate as the seconds passed. Normally, Yashiro would revel in this kind of obvious adoration, but he merely found himself relieved that Kyoko hadn't noticed the way he was looking at her - it was probably enough to frighten the girl half way across the world if she saw it.

_Honestly...why can't the path of true love ever run smooth?_ Yashiro contemplated, with a fan girl sigh.

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Just realised that not a lot actually happens in this scene. Well in reality at least. I'd like to thank you all for reading this far and hope you're enjoying it. I'd especially like to thank all those who've reviewed it's been great and I hope more of you will take the opportunity to do so. *Insert Ren's puppy dog eye begging look here*  
>Arigator with dogeza of joy :)<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Ren started to get into character, knowing that it was his only choice - if he didn't, there was a very high possibility that he wouldn't be able to restrain Kuon from what he wanted to do to Kyoko. He'd half hoped Kyoko would kick up a fuss about a kiss scene and had to stop himself from going over and giving her a bit of the Emperor of the Night routine to frighten her into folding. As much as he wanted to, he knew he couldn't do that to her, she'd probably think that it meant he thought she wasn't up to scratch as an actress. _Why does she have to see everything I do or say in a negative light - as if it's her fault?_ Sighing for possibly the hundredth time since he'd awoken from his daydream, he focused on how **Ben** would feel about the kiss, not himself.

-x-

Ben stared as his old childhood friend - now nemesis - walked over to him, holding a heart shaped box with an enormous red bow on the front. His face raced through the expressions of surprise, anger and finally distrust as she stopped before him, poised and dangerous.

"What are you doing here?" He demanded, angry that she'd defiled his workplace with her presence.

"I'm here to congratulate you," she replied, chucking the box towards him, "As your oldest friend, I'm probably the only one who knows what a dateless virgin you are, so I'm the only one who can congratulate you on becoming Ghoul Academy's lead actress' boyfriend."

"What!"

The surrounding crowd broke into excited questioning and gossiping. Ben stared at Sarah, horrified.

"What the hell's wrong with you? First yesterday, now today...you're acting like you think I'm a boy with a high school crush on her!" Ben yelled at her, annoyed.

"What else am I supposed to think, you still going around saying you'd do anything for her after the way she's treated you," was Sarah's possessive reply.

"Yesterday I was helping her with her lines for her next episode because she blackmailed me. There's no way I'd ever be her boyfriend and don't you ever think otherwise, you bitch."

He pointed and yelled at her, only to finally see Cara - stood in the background watching him. He quailed with embarrassment and shock, and turned away as if to flee.

A small smile began to curve around Sarah lips, confident and egotistical, as she walked to his side. Ben was drawn out of his own internal lecture by the words she now spoke to him.

"Honestly...you're too pathetic. I'd thought you'd finally gotten yourself a girl and now I know it was really nothing. You'll never be with anyone for the rest of your life."  
>"I don't need or want your pity," he flared up in competition, not wanting to appear weak in front of the person he wished to destroy, "I've had more chocolate this year than any other - I've received 10 from this band meet alone."<p>

Sarah looked slowly around the room, shielding her face with her hair so no one could see the wealth of emotions flitting across her face.

"Does that include Cara?" she asked in a dead tone.

Disturbed by her voice, Ben muttered incoherently.

"No…I…chocolates, not from Cara..."

Sarah leaned in, her voice strangely desperate.

"So...what did you receive other than chocolate?"

Ben blushed and began stammering.

"I-It's none of your business."

This was too much for Sarah. She bent down and peeled open the lid of the rejected box of chocolates, taking one out and rolling it in her fingertips. In one smooth motion, she returned to her feet and moved closer to him.

"It doesn't matter," she said, sweepingly, "Instead, I'd rather know what you think of this."

Bringing her fingers to her mouth, Sarah placed the chocolate on her tongue and reached out for Ben's shirt, pulling his frame down to her level. She forced her plump lips against his and pushed the chocolate against him, smirking as it slid into his mouth.

The minute her lips touched Ren's, Sarah left Kyoko in a heartbeat.

-x-

Kyoko froze. _Oh no, oh no, OH NO! WHAT AM I DOING?_ She screamed in her head. Her fist grasped tighter on Ren's shirt and she cursed herself. _Arrrrrrrrgh NO! What if I'm ruining his shirt? It's probably really expensive...Tsuruga-san is going to get so mad about this; he's an actor-he needs to have a perfect gentlemanly appearance at all times! He'll kill me if he loses credibility as an actor because his shirt's torn! _

Distraught by the act she was committing, Kyoko's brain went into overload. She began panicking about even the slightest of things, never actually giving any thought as to whether or not Ren would actually care-for example, a few stretch marks on his shirt may have seemed terrible and punishable by law to Kyoko, but Ren probably didn't mind. Regardless of this obvious fact-when she wasn't in full freak out mode-Kyoko's brain had taken it upon itself to convince her that this was the only way for her to withstand the scene, distracting herself with his clothes rather than her disgraceful, Sho-like kiss.

Unfortunately, the brain, being a very complex machine, doesn't always work the way we want it to. So, in the same way that people try to block out nerves for a test by acknowledging it and then distracting themselves with something else-only to fail, Kyoko found that had no sooner had one part of her brain decided it was better for Kyoko to think of the clothes rather than the kiss, another part had flagged up the fact that, no matter how she looked at it, she was still in his mouth.

Strangely shocked by the realisation, Kyoko almost screamed-the only thing stopping her was the fact that Ren was still glued to her lips. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that no one could tell what she was thinking. Suddenly, Ren placed his hands either side of her head, shielding her scared eyes from the rest of the crew, and pretended to be pushing her away - as scripted.

_He's still in character. _Feeling a fool for slipping out of Sarah so easily when Ren showed so much control, Kyoko felt her heart sting. _I guess that's the difference between a senpai and his kohai..._she thought, lamentably, _Tsuruga-san just let the Valentine's incident go and performed the way he had to while I...I was too busy trying not to think about it that I let my character go instead...I can't believe I still let Sho ruin my acting. _Unconsciously, Kyoko mouthed the word, 'Sho' into Ren's lips.

He forced her away at a rapid pace and she fell back into Sarah once more.

-x-

The scene ended without a hiccup and Director Hielberg sent them on their way without any indication of his thoughts. Ren, with his usual gentlemanly smile plastered on his face, quickly exited in search of somewhere quiet - desperate to get his feelings under wraps before he went to his next job-an interview that evening. As soon as he sat down on a makeshift bench in a corridor that he vaguely remembered, he let the smile go and sink into his depression. _Why..? Why did she think of him?_

He thought back to the moment that he'd started to pull away, and tried to fight the urge to hit something. She'd said it. It had been just a fraction of time, only most people wouldn't notice, but he had.

"_Sho."_

_Why...Why did she have to say it? Why was she thinking about him at a time like that?_

He had a good idea why, of course-the scene had definite parallels to what had happened the previous Valentine's Day - but he hated to accept it. When she'd pulled him in by his shirt and pushed the chocolate into his mouth, he'd been more than just a little surprised. He knew of the kiss - what was going to happen - but the script was awfully unspecific on how it was to be instigated. Kyoko had made it up on the spot.

Knowing about her lack of experience in kissing men, Ren had surmised that this flash of inspiration was from something she'd experienced, and when he thought about that it made his mind whirr. _Was this how __**he'd**__ instigated the kiss on her that Valentine's? _At the time he hadn't seen how Sho had managed to pull Kyoko in-he'd been too far away and distracted by Director Ogata - but now that he knew...

He cursed.

Right now, he should have been happy. Well maybe not happy, after all the kiss wasn't something she'd initiated because she had feelings for him but because she had to, but given Ren's threshold for happiness was scarily low when it came to Kyoko he should have at least been glad that she hadn't freaked out loudly or frozen completely when it occurred. But he couldn't.

That one moment - that one small error on her part, was all it had taken to shatter everything for him. Hearing his name..._that bastard's name_...against his lips had made his blood boil. Kyoko had clearly frozen-thinking about **him **- and it was a struggle to pull away from her. When he finally managed, he moved like lightning, so disgusted that he didn't even need to feign the anger he needed for the remainder of the scene. He was livid, in the only way Fuwa Sho was capable of making him. At the end of the audition, he couldn't even look at her.

Now, head in his hands in a deserted corridor, Ren tried to figure out what it all meant. _Why did she say it then? _He pondered, fingers combing through his jet black hair, _Did she...visualise me as him? _A wave of anxiety and repulsion washed over him with the thought. He was most certainly not Fuwa Sho. _Was this a one time thing or...will she keep on seeing me as him-for the duration of the film..?_ His stomach clenched. _Will it carry on even after the film..?_

Mind full of images of touching Kyoko - only lightly - and being pushed away flooded his mind. If she really did consider him to be Sho, there was a high chance she'd feel the same hatred she felt for him for Ren. His head sank lower.

Trying to see things another way, he pondered yet again why Kyoko would remember Sho from a kiss-maybe...maybe she wasn't over him like Ren thought she was..._They say love springs from hate..._ he considered, wondering whether this train of thought was more damaging than the last, _What if her hatred towards him isn't actually hate? What if she still sees him as her perfect prince - even after all he's done? _He fought the urge to yell.

_WHAT THE HELL DOES IT ALL MEAN!_

He'd already decided he wouldn't ask her, but he really couldn't stand not knowing. He imagined striking up the conversation over and over in his head but he couldn't find the words...not to mention, there was a part of him that doubted he'd be strong enough to take the answer. Sighing deeply, he marvelled at the range of emotions Kyoko had inspired in him today. Today, he supposed, had been the perfect example of his devotion to her and the staggeringly large effect she could have on him. Within the space of a few hours she'd sent him from a point higher than the gods, soaring like an eagle, to somewhere lower than hell, weighed down by chains.

He glanced down at his new wristwatch, staring silently as the second hand ticked round. _I should be finding Yashiro, _he thought, suddenly aware of the time he'd wasted,_ I have an interview to get to. _He let out one final, heavy sigh, and was about to stand up when a figure appeared before him.

Dropping to her knees in the dogeza style he knew so well, Kyoko slammed her hands on the floor and spoke desperately into his shoes.

"PLEASE FORGIVE ME TSURUGA-SAN!" she wailed.

-x-

As soon as Sarah left her body, Kyoko started hyperventilating. She couldn't form any coherent thoughts and her emotions were spinning out of control. By the time she became aware of her surroundings, almost everybody had left the audition hall. Kanae continued to shake her back and forth like a Daruma doll for a few more minutes before realising her friend was back in the land of the living.

Kyoko stared at her.

Suddenly realising that her best friend was next to her, caring for her, she burst into a river of tears that almost threatened to sweep Kanae away.

"Mou...Get a grip, will you?" A highly ruffled Kanae exclaimed.

"B-But Moko-san!" she cried in response, "What am I supposed to do? Tsuru…" she trailed off, too ashamed of her actions to even say his name. "I've ruined everything."

Kanae couldn't really argue with that statement, although, she wasn't sure if she and Kyoko were in the same book let alone on the same page right now, so it was best to tread cautiously. Having seen how Ren had practically fled the room - followed by a concerned Yashiro who'd returned five minutes later seemingly unable to track him down - Kanae was convinced that Ren was disappointed that his first kiss with Kyoko had been so terrible. What other reason could there be? Predicting what would happen once the scene was over, Kanae was sure Ren would spill a couple of lies and make Kyoko feel less embarrassed about kissing him, so she was actually a little surprised to see him go like that. _He must've been reeeeally disappointed..._

Shaking off the hundreds of questions she had, Kanae knew that it was up to her to pick up the pieces-she had to take his place as the liar. _How did I ever end up in this situation?_ She thought.

"You haven't ruined everything." She lied, convincingly and soothingly, "Tsuruga-san has no reason to be angry at you, he was probably just in a hurry to get to his next appointment."

"Tsuruga-san's left?" Kyoko replied, dazed, turning around to stare around the room and double check. The look on her face was torn, like she couldn't decide whether this was a good thing or a bad one. Sure, he wasn't around to berate her - Demon Lord style - but she'd partly wanted him to for her terrible lack of professionalism, _How am I going to grow as an actress if he doesn't cut me down and help set me straight?_

Kanae gazed in amazement at her friend's obliviousness. Clearly they were definitely not on the same page, or the same book. She wondered if they were even in the same library.

"He left a while ago. Why do you think you've ruined everything with him?" She asked.

Kyoko's eyes widened in shock, remembering something that made her feel highly uncomfortable.

"But I…I ki...kis…kissed him...Moko-san..." she whispered hoarsely, the word 'kissed' almost choking her.

Finally, Kanae understood. With the two of them serving as LoveMe girls for months together, she'd racked up a wealth of information on Kyoko, meaning that, sometimes, it was all too easy to read her mind. Right now, all of her experience with the girl was telling Kanae just how pure and innocent Kyoko's thoughts were when it came to kissing - believing beyond all doubt that her first kiss would be something out of a fairytale, a magical moment where she and her prince would vow their love to each other and live happily ever after...Not on a stage in front of a crew with a man who was only acting.

She shuddered and, not for the first time since her friendship with Kyoko began, wished she didn't have the impressive memory she did about these things.

As much as Kyoko hated herself for what she'd just done, Kanae knew exactly what to say to help calm her down. Kyoko wasn't a manipulative woman, treating her senpai like a possession in the way Sarah did, nor was she a bully or a girl filled with jealousy like Natsu or Mio. No...it wasn't _her_ kissing Tsuruga Ren.

"Kyoko." She dragged her best friend from her self-produced pit of loathing in a sharp, authoritative tone, "You have nothing to feel guilty for because you haven't done anything wrong. You were in character and the script said you had to kiss him," she explained, a sense of pride welling up as she watched Kyoko's eyes re-light, "if you hadn't, you would've been a failure as an actress."

Kyoko gazed up at her, face hopeful.

"You really think so Moko-san?" she asked, still feeling disgraceful, but less afraid of facing Ren now. Kanae nodded sharply.

Hearing the words she so desperately needed, Kyoko was filled with the sudden urgency to find her senpai and apologise. She grabbed her belongings and called goodbye to Kanae before hurrying out of the room.

"Arigatou, Moko-san. I've got to go and find Tsuruga-san-see you later!"

-x-

Yashiro, who had watched the whole exchange since coming back from looking for Ren, chuckled. _How like Kyoko-chan_ he mused. He turned his attention to Kanae, noticing her disappointment at her friend's desertion.

"You did really well today, Kotonami-san." He said enthusiastically, walking over to greet her.

Truthfully, he wasn't sure what to expect of the second LoveMe girl, and had found himself pleasantly surprised. Her role as Cara's serious yet meddling manager had been right on the mark-tightening her expression when it was required and piling on the humour in the scenes where she watched Ben and Cara's awkward relationship. Truth be told, she had one of the more difficult roles to play. With her character's insistence upon getting the two main leads together - often to her charge's chagrin - Yana was a role well loved by the manga's fanbase, no doubt mounting the pressure on the actress playing her. Kanae however, seemed the perfect picture of calm.

The girl acknowledged his praise with a nod, mentally reassessing whether or not it was worth her time to converse with him. She decided that it was.

"Shall we go and watch the drama then?" he enquired, pulling out an electronic device out of his suit pocket with a gloved hand. He'd used it earlier to before coming back to the room to try and manipulate Kyoko into seeing Ren. As that job had become unnecessary he kindly let Kanae in on his little gadget.

The machine beeped and Kanae glanced down at it.

There was a small red dot on the receiver-it read: Ren, Basement.

-x-

Unfortunately, unlike the crafty manager, Kyoko didn't have the benefit of a tracking device to find Ren in the large labyrinth that was the LME building. Fortunately, however, the various LoveMe assignments over the last year and a bit had given her extensive knowledge of the building's layout. And, of course, there was her strange, innate ability to be able to bump into Ren-regardless of whether or not she was actually looking for him. Sensing a dark, depressed aura nearby, Kyoko skirted down into one of the basement corridors, surprised to find herself in the exact same one she'd walked down as Bo all those months ago.

Wondering briefly if she should don the chicken suit again, Kyoko spotted a solemn, solitary figure perched on a prop nearby, head in his hands. Surprised by his sudden appearance, she darted back around the corner and hovered there for a while, thinking of what to say. _This would be so much easier if I were Bo right now..._She peered around the corner and felt her Ren-rage antenna fluctuate back and forth, his expression more disappointed than angry. Needless to say, she had no idea why. _Is he disappointed with my portrayal of Sarah? Was it that obvious that my character dropped? _

She crouched to the floor and began to scold herself when she heard a heavy sigh. _Oh no...his NG sigh_...Taking a deep breath, Kyoko forced herself out from behind the wall and fell to her knees before him, the way she'd done a million times before, to apologise.

"PLEASE FORGIVE ME TSURUGA-SAN!" she wailed.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x  
>Gommenasai this chapter is very long but I didn't think it could be avoided. *dogeza*<br>Arigator again to all those who have read and a special thanks to those who have reviewed. I hope you'll forgive me for the continued torment of Ren but I've become a bit like Lory writing this ;)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"PLEASE FORGIVE ME TSURUGA-SAN!" she wailed.

Ren's heart jolted, as a very familiar girl jumped out of nowhere and fell at his feet. He looked down at her and sighed. _I'm not sure how much more of her unknowingly messing around with my emotions I can take_. Hearing his sigh, Kyoko snapped her head up in fear.

"Gomennasai Tsuruga-san. I didn't mean to lose Sarah part way through it's just the…the…ki…kis…" she swallowed hard despite everything her beloved Moko-san had said-she just couldn't get over the wrongness of the kiss.

Ren looked at her, cheeks pink with embarrassment, and couldn't help but be reminded of how unbelievably attractive she was. He'd become accustomed to her blushes when she'd been Setsu but when she did it as herself, of her own volition...well...it was too much. Desperately trying to keep his thoughts from straying where they had earlier in the day, he glanced around at his surroundings and remembered why it had seemed so familiar. _This...this is where I met Bo..._his feathered friend took over his mind for a moment and he began to wonder. _What would Bo say if he could see me now? He'd be disappointed I didn't follow his advice, probably. What was his advice again? _Suddenly remembering something he probably shouldn't, Ren couldn't help but slip off his earlier facade, tempted to give into Bo's suggestions. He grinned hungrily at the prey before him.

_Ah yes..._he thought, losing himself rapidly by the second,_ 'Seduce her.'_

"'It's just-' what, Mogami-san? I didn't quite catch that."

He enquired reasonably enough, but the flash in his eyes was enough to put Kyoko's heart on edge - if she'd had trouble forming the words before it was nothing to her difficulty now. Still staring up at him she tried to speak, but no sound came out. All her defences were collapsing before her eyes. She knew he was teasing her - revelling in the fact that she couldn't even mention the word 'kiss' in front of him - and that she should berate him for being such a playboy, but she just couldn't. Gazing up into those dark, mysterious eyes had her entranced, trapped. Her grudges were powerless - she was caught.

Enjoying himself far too much at her wide eyed helplessness, Ren unwittingly increased the power of his gaze.

"Did you mean, 'kiss' Mogami-san? Because that wasn't really a kiss…"

Ren shuffled towards her straightening form, the rational side of his brain fighting a losing battle. His next words - 'this is a real kiss' - were to come before he claimed those cute, rosebud lips properly, right then and there. Then he heard something that stopped him dead in his tracks. A scuffle.

Straining his ears, Ren heard the distinct sounds of two people grappling nearby, and the unusual sound of buzzing. _It was almost like the sound electronic devices made when they came into contact with something it didn't like..._

Then, suddenly, it hit him.

_That sound..._he recalled the only occasion he'd ever lost a phone, and the bizarre noises it made when put into contact with a certain person...

_Damn that meddling manager! _ Kuon thought, as Tsuruga Ren, Kyoko's respected gentlemanly senpai, pushed himself back into the driving seat of his mind.

"Haven't I taught you the 'rule of the heart' for actors?" Tsuruga Ren sighed, disappointed that he not only had to change his plans, but had to repeat himself too.

Kyoko coloured in embarrassment, not just for forgetting his advice but for her momentary lapse in self-awareness. _What the heck was I just thinking! Was I honestly considering for even a minute that Tsuruga-san was looking at me like he was interested? I'm just a plain, homely girl. There's no way Japan's sexist man and No. 1 Bachelor was thinking of kissing me outside of work..._

"Gomennasai Tsuruga-san. I forgot." She replied meekly.

Ren acknowledged her apology and made to stand, but then Kuon pushed something into his mind.

"By the way, Mogami-san, what did you mean by you 'lost Sarah part way through?'" he enquired, good naturedly.

Kyoko froze still on her knees and looked down at the floor, trying to come up with a response that didn't sound incriminating.

"Ummm…well..." she tried to delay the inevitable.

She stood in silence before daring a glance back up at her senpai. Her stomach dropped. The smile. The gentlemanly smile of a man demanding answers. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end - she was a fool for thinking he'd put up with anything less than the 100% truth.

_Arrrrrrgggggh, not the gentleman's smile! Ok, just be quick. It's like ripping a plaster off - One, two... _

"When-I-kissed-you-I-lost-character-for-a-tiny-second-because-it-made-me-remember-that-Sho-baka-and-what-he-did-on-Vain-Day-and-I-just-felt-awful-doing-that-to-you-because-nobody-deserves-that-because-it's-treating-them-like-their-feelings-and-opinions-don't-matter-and-I-never-want-to-be-like-that."

Ren felt a weight lift off his shoulders for the second time that day, and he could finally breathe easy. Luckily, after many of these rushed, incoherent apologies from Kyoko, Ren had learned to translate them quickly and competently, understanding every single word she said without her having to repeat it. Regardless of this rather impressive fact, Kyoko did in fact repeat herself, numerous times and in different variations, to make completely sure - though she left out Sho for the most of it. Ren listened to her throughout and extended a hand to her, helping the poor girl off the floor and to her feet in one swift movement. He calmed her down.

"It's alright Mogami-san, I understand."

He flashed her a true smile and she felt a million times better. Kyoko noticed a little melancholic twinge to it, but knew that she was forgiven. She let go of a breath she hadn't even known she'd been holding. _He's not mad at me._

So she smiled back and Ren leaned close into her, something akin to the Emperor of the Night in his eyes but it also had hints of melancholy and helplessness, it reminded her of his face when he'd met her outside the lift that night during their Cain and Setsu period*. It was like he needed her to comfort him, the want to comfort and support him burned so badly that she didn't realise her face was lifting up, he lips moving to meet…

"Mou! Kyoko, there you are! Sawara-san needs us both-now!"

Kanae's perfectly acted lie caused them both to jump, watching in surprise as she walked over dragged Kyoko out of the almost-kiss. Knowing that his attempts to restrain Kanae - leaving him winded - had been all too unsuccessful, Yashiro climbed out of the woodwork beside her. He tried and failed a hide his broken tracker - a victim in the struggle against Kanae - from Ren before massaging his stomach, more than a little irritated that the actress knew how to use her bony elbows to her advantage. Yashiro would also never going to get over the mental anguish she'd inflicted upon him, or his private area.

Making a point of avoiding eye contact with Ren, he opened up his notepad and, unnecessarily, reminded Ren of his next appointment. The man in question donned a smile - _Not that smile... _- and bowed to the two girls, muttering the briefest of goodbyes. Flashing a quick look in Yashiro's direction, Ren strode away down the corridor, manager at his heels, and headed back to the car.

-x-

Once Ren had left, Kanae dragged Kyoko back to the LoveMe locker room and, using every trick she knew, grilled Kyoko for information. Getting all that she could out of her about her and Ren's previous relationship almost rendered her speechless. There was so much that Kyoko had never told her it was almost sickening. _How did I never hear of this until now?_

Kanae had automatically assumed that the two had never really had any major issues - apart from maybe a lack of honesty - so to hear that they'd hated each other in the beginning...was more than a little shocking.

Unable to stop herself, Kyoko had reamed off detail after detail - her time as Ren's temporary manager, the help she'd given him when he was troubled over Katsuki, _though that was him practically taking advantage of her by the sounds of it..._how comforting he'd been about Corn, the chaos that was Valentine's day, acting as the Heel siblings...Kanae was overwhelmed.

Just thinking about every instance her friend had mentioned made her feel almost sorry for Ren - not 'sorry' but 'nearly sorry'. There were so many times in their history where Kyoko had blatantly ignored any instance of him being affectionate, it was hard not to feel bad for even the worst kind of guy.  
>Thinking about how hard it must be for him at times, Kanae felt her vendetta being shaken.<p>

_And I thought Kyoko had made _my _life complex..._she thought.

She sighed as she tried to make sense of it all - a task that was surprisingly easy for a person like her.

Blessed with a highly analytical brain and a superhuman ability to withhold vast amounts of data, Kanae processed and condensed the information she'd just received into a much more comprehensible format, coming up with only one real solution.

_It's practically a shoujo manga..._a slightly exasperated Kanae thought, glancing up the minute she saw Kyoko's troubled face gazing at her. _Hold on a minute..._now _she's concerned? _Frustration at not being told a lot of this information earlier kicked in and she berated her friend.

"Mou...Why didn't you say any of this earlier?"

Kyoko opened her mouth but Kanae cut through it.

"Don't bother, I know why," she continued, with a sigh, "You either didn't want to think about it because it would depress you, or you thought by mentioning problems that weren't related to acting or the entertainment business, you would be imposing on me, right?"

Kyoko's eyes said it all.

Kanae leaned back in her chair.

"Is there anything else you think you should tell me about? Something that's been burdening you for ages that you haven't mentioned because you think that you don't deserve the right to complain like everyone else?" she asked pointedly, "You may not believe this but I am your best friend, aren't I supposed to know everything about you?"

She looked at Kyoko's increasingly guilty face and decided to deliver the finishing blow.

"Right now it seems like, if I ever had to answer a quiz on you, Tsuruga-san would beat me."

Kyoko's eyes widened both with surprise and regret, her face becoming more burdened than ever before. She slowly engaged in eye contact with Kanae, for the first time since her confessions had begun, and spoke her reply - albeit a little more uncertain that she'd hoped to sound.

"Well...I'm not sure if it's something to complain about...I've been really quite lucky, what with the Fuwa's taking me in as a child, but…" she trailed off, feeling uncomfortable with the idea of revealing what a pathetic child she'd been.

_What if Kanae agrees with mother that I'm not good enough..?_

Kyoko couldn't help second guessing her friend, it was like a conditioned response after all she'd been through - what with her mother and Sho making it painfully clear that her ideas about a relationship were nothing like the reality. She glanced up at Kanae, her best friend's eyes full of concern and unspoken encouragement and acceptance.

_I think I can trust her not to judge me solely on this...after all, she's never had a problem with hiding how she feels about people before...she'd have told me if she didn't consider me a real friend..._

"My mother...she hasn't made contact with me in four years...abandoning me to the Fuwa's six years before that," she admitted, forcing the words out with difficulty, "Seems...I wasn't good enough to meet her standards."

Kanae felt the stabs in Kyoko's heart as she spoke those words. Suddenly, the fact Kyoko was falling for Ren - even if she was trying very hard to deny it to herself and the world - and that soon, Kanae would be left with only Amamiya Chiori for company, was irrelevant. All that mattered was that her friend cared about her enough to put herself through this emotional pain so that she, Kanae, wouldn't feel so excluded. She felt ashamed of herself.

Kyoko had never talked about family, but despite the fact she'd run away to Tokyo with Sho, Kanae had assumed she still kept in contact with to them. Kanae's own resentment of her family situation it meant it had never been something they particularly discussed. But it didn't seem feasible that a parent of such a loving and giving girl would be unable to cherish her. However, her assumption had obviously been wrong, Kyoko who was almost always all smiles and sunshine didn't have doting parents that meant she still maintained her childish fantasies. Instead, reality seemed to be much more sinister...

One look at Kyoko's eyes could tell her that.

_She acts that way because she never had a childhood..._

Kanae's fists clenched with the temptation to physically harm the woman who thought her best friend and only rival wasn't good enough.

Seeing her best friend's expression full of the burden that was her own past, Kyoko - for the second time that hour - fell prostrate on her knees, distressed.

"Gomennasai Moko-san." Kyoko wailed.

Kanae looked down at her friend's tear-streaked face and finally accepted that no matter how long she studied the girl, despite her extraordinary brain, Kyoko would always have the ability to astound her. She was incomprehensible - but that made her all the more important in Kanae's eyes.

Taking her newfound knowledge and deciding that it didn't change a thing, Kanae said the one phrase that would forever bond her to that fiery auburn haired girl.

"Mou! Kyoko, we're best friends aren't we?" she asked, a smirk playing on her lips, "You should be saying 'gomennasai _Kanae'_. 'Moko-san' is just embarrassing."

-x-

Tina was careful not to probe her boss the evening after the auditions, but it was evident from his thoughtful expression that the cogs in his brain were doing overtime. She met him the next morning and was surprised to hear him bringing up the subject of Jump Note - no prompting required.

"We need musicians."

It wasn't an obvious comment that declared he was committed to the project but it was most definitely a good sign. Something about the auditions yesterday must have inspired him - loathe as he was to actually admit it.

Focusing back on what he'd actually said, Tina immediately began contacting LME - calling them up and demanding to speak to their music section - only to be stopped by the director.

She hung up and turned to look at him, eyes curious.

"No. No more LME people."

_No more Lory, more like..._Tina surmised, hiding a knowing smirk.

"Contact their rival, Akitoki, for musicians. After all, we promised Lory we'd pick the best Japan had to offer for this, so it could be done to justice."

He spat out the word 'justice' and, although it may have seemed harsh, it was nothing compared to the tone he'd used yesterday.

Hesitant to damage any improvement in her boss' mood, Tina looked up Akitoki's number and organised a meeting.

-x-

In the days following the auditions there was little to no news regarding the failures and successes of the main actors, leading to much speculation on Kyoko and Kanae's part. Or rather...Kyoko speculated, she wanted the distraction from her behaviour as Sho-Sarah-baka as even with Ren's forgiveness she felt terrible for what had occurred. She also felt nervous about how she thought Ren might have wanted…been intending when they were down in that dark corridor to…_kiss?_ She felt ashamed to even consider that the Tsuruga Ren might want to do **that** to her, especially after her failure to keep in character.

Kanae however, just redirected any audition talk to talk about Kyoko. Now wary of asking about her family - mother in particular - she knew to speak more about - heaven forbid - Ren. Although he was a topic she generally wanted to avoid - her competitive nature not wishing to give him any advantage, Kanae was aware of Kyoko's concern when it came to him. It was important was mentally preparing Kyoko for her next meeting with Ren; especially if they all did end up working together in the drama.

Inwardly, Kanae seethed.

No doubt, if Ren was to become her co-worker he would take every opportunity to spend more time with her..._especially if his manager keeps sticking his nose in and his tracker and his arms..._

Regardless of the slight camaraderie she'd felt earlier, Kanae now had a bone to pick with Yashiro - trying to interrupt her attempts to interrupt Ren and Kyoko was an unforgiveable offence.

_Even if it was understandable he'd be slightly desperate after the numerous opportunities he set up failed._

As LoveMe member No. 2 Kanae felt that meddling in another person's love life was a waste of time. It wasn't fair of Yashiro to push Ren's affections on to Kyoko, especially when she wasn't ready. In time, after a lot of help, Kyoko would be able to negotiate her way through the minefield of Ren's emotions, dodging any unwanted affections until she was fully comfortable with it.

_Wait a minute...isn't that like accepting that she'll fall for him in the end?_

Kanae cursed herself before deciding to test her theory.

"Kyoko."

"Yes, _Kanae_?"

Kanae rolled her eyes. From the second she'd given her permission for Kyoko to call her 'Kanae', Kyoko had been using it at every opportunity. At first it had been somewhat endearing, but after enduring the fourth greeting - a giant hug and a scream of "KANAE!"- she was pretty sick of it.

"What did you think of Tsuruga-san's acting as the romantic lead?" She asked, casually letting Kyoko catch the batch before reeling her in.

"He was incredible."

The loyal and predictable response.

"He was incredible at conveying an image that the audience could emote with…"

"And of course, fall in love with. After all, the whole point of the romantic leads is they are to make the audience become infatuated, with themselves and the character they're pursuing. This is why romances where there are so many obstacles to overcome have a greater impact on the audience - the character seems more worthy of a relationship."

The two girls halted their conversation and turned to face the figure in the doorway.

"President..?"

Sure enough, the President of LME stood before them, hands on hips and eyes trained on the locker room. Kanae took in his appallingly normal outfit and wondered if something was wrong - more so even than last week when he'd undergone a 'gladiator' phase. Shedding his bright, elaborate costumes, Lory wore a plain brown suit, white shirt and black tie - a look that wouldn't be out of place in an office worker's wardrobe.

Kanae and Kyoko were horrified, not by his sudden opinions or the fact that he was, essentially in a girl's changing room, but the sheer fact that he looked so normal.

_I almost miss the gladiator..._Kanae thought.

"I've been informed you're both required in the Acting School Department - I was heading this way anyway and thought I'd pass on the message."

Nodding, yet still shocked into silence, the two made their way over to his location by the door. He let Kyoko pass, but barred Kanae's escape.

"Go on ahead Mogami-kun, I just need a quick word with Kotonami-kun."

Kyoko nodded, eager to stay behind but obediently leaving quietly. Lory watched as she disappeared down the corridor, turning the corner and heading out of sight.

He turned to face Kanae.

"Now then...Kotonami-kun, were you just doing what I think you were doing?" He asked, happily, impressed that his LoveMe No. 2 girl was trying to get his LoveMe No. 1 girl to realise her feelings.

"…Maybe…"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

*Chapter 181 is finally out and I read it just before posting this. I almost did a Yashiro fan-girl screamed.

Thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed it, if you did please let me know. *cough* REVIEW *nudge*  
>I struggled quite a bit with this chapter and I hope people feel the characterisation is ok. It's just I really wanted Kyoko and Kanae to have a real best friends confession session, as it seems that frequently Kanae always seems to be the last person to know everything.<br>If you are curious as to why Lory is in such boring clothes please be patient it will be revealed, although at this rate it may be in a few chapters time. But don't worry he will soon be back to his wonderful fancy dressed self.

Thank you again for reading :)


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Sho had stared appreciatively at the blonde American woman in front of him - she was his type. Attractive, tall, well-endowed - _not like that plain country girl who doesn't come back when we both know she belongs by my side._ He barely listened to what she said; he was too busy trying to find a way to put her into one of his hundreds backlog songs - that waited for something inspirational to become polished and usable. He was vaguely aware of Shoko questioning her, talking business, but he was too busy thinking of the best way to incorporate her western name into his riff.

"Do you agree Sho?" Aki Shoko asked him. When she saw he was miles away she was extremely tempted to just leave him to deal with the business himself - _not that I can do that, I am his manager after all, even if he forgets half the time and thinks I'm his maid._ She summarised for her charge and just because he'd been a brat all day she used the only way she could be sure of his attention.

"I'm sure Shoutaro would only be too happy to write the music for the film and of course Shoutaro would be honoured to make a special appearance in a film Director Hielberg's involved in." _That was rather immature_ Shoko reprimanded herself slightly but she couldn't really regret it. Sho had been intolerable of late, well he'd always been immature, but there was only so many times she could remind herself that her charge was an incredibly gifted musician and deserved her loyalty, especially when he would then reminded her five times as well.

Annoyed that his real name had been revealed Sho barely managed to nod in agreement before going into a sulk. _Right now I really want Kyo…someone to get me some Kurigo Pucchin Purin. _

Tina stared at the boy extremely dissatisfied, after the performances and the professionalism of people at LME she had expected better of the young talented musician. She could admit her was he was incredibly good but if he didn't get his act together then Hielberg would have no problem telling him where to go. _Nor would I for that matter, his attitude is worse than Kuon's, who despite having everything he was never a selfis…_ Tina felt sick _I'm defending that murderer in comparison to this boy, yeah he may be arrogant but at least he has true talent which is more than that murderer had. Even Hielberg said he's seen better ability in a chocolate teapot._

"Are you alright Jones-san?" Shoko enquired concerned at the horror that had violently taken hold to the attractive American woman that she had taken an instant liking to. Brought back from the terrible images of that day Tina instinctively felt for the chains around her neck under her top and placed a hand over the precious mementoes.

"Yes, thank you Shoko-san. Just had a dizzy spell, its past." She smiled the fake smile that had kept her going since that day _almost seven years ago know, where did all the time go?_ Smoothing a crease in her skirt she stood up.

"I look forward to working with you Shoko-san, Fuwa-san. I'll see you next week at the musical run through. Director Hielberg has high expectations of you and that doesn't happen often." At this Sho began to smirk.

"So I suggest you don't disappoint him." She added with emphasis, she'd probably get it in the neck as much as the kid if he didn't come up to scratch. Tina and Shoko both took more enjoyment than either of them should at the fall in Sho's face, but considering it only lasted a split second before his cocky smile was fixed firmly back in place, neither of them felt particularly guilty.

-x-

Ren was in the middle of a photo shoot when Yashiro whipped on his gloves and answered the all-important telephone call. Not that Ren was aware of the content of the conversation, all he knew that when Yashiro finished the call he was practically bouncing up and down in excitement. Ren prayed that Yashiro wasn't scheming again. Despite being grateful that Yashiro and Kanae's interruption -as it kept him in check and stopped him doing something irresponsible and relationship damaging to Kyoko - Ren was extremely annoyed that they'd followed him. _Can't I have just a minute's privacy_? Unfortunately for Yashiro Ren had noticed the remains of the tracking device during his quick exit to the car. As soon as Yashiro had entered the car so they could go to the next job he'd turned on his fake gentleman smile on to full power and let Yashiro sweat for half the journey before casually asking. All credit due to Yashiro he managed to come up with a perfectly plausible explanation – if it was Kyoko who he'd been trying to convince. With that, his still slightly awkward feelings about his behaviour to Kyoko, and no information about Jump Note, the atmosphere had been slightly tense for the last few days.

All the more reason for Yashiro's pleasure. He didn't say anything while Ren continued the photo shoot, _let Ren be the one to sweat it out for a bit for a change_. But by the time it was finished he couldn't keep it to himself any longer. Ren walked over to him to collect his jacket and Yashiro practically shouted with glee

"Director Hielberg wants you in Jump Note."

-x-

Ren had been walking on cloud nine ever since Yashiro had told him that he had a shot, the chance to correct one of the many failures of his youth. As he made his way to the LME acting division he saw the one thing that could always make his day better, not that his day had been bad, by she had a way of making even a great day more incredible. The joy was ever so slightly diminished by the presence of the bright eye-smarting pink overalls rather than her casual clothes that always made her seem even more charming B_ut I won't let that bother me, Kotonami-san and Yashiro aren't here I'm going to made the best of this._

"Kyoko" he called out heartily. Kyoko froze and Ren swore internally. _Where, the hell has all my restraint gone, what on earth possessed me to call out her name? I meant to say 'Mogami-san' and get rid of any awkwardness that might be lingering from last time I saw her. What the hell happened?_

_Why did Tsuruga-san say my name again? _A grudge who was desperately trying to avoid the dangerous shine of Ren's true emotions screamed 'He didn't say your name, he's shouted it!' _Calm down heart_ Kyoko thought, not that it had any effect; suddenly it was going faster than a bullet train. _There's some explanation, maybe there's another Kyoko around here, maybe it's the same Kyoko-chan he said the name of when he was ill._ It was pathetic flimsy reasoning but it gave Kyoko enough courage to turn around coincidentally, spot Ren, and casually walk up to him and greet him. Well that was the aim, but in reality she turned sharply and stared Ren down, who quailed under the look she gave him (not visibly of course) and charged up to him.

"Hello Tsuruga-san, how are you today?" Years of experience at the Fuwa's hotel dealing with customers meant that these lines we performed in an almost normal manner.

"Hello Ky…Mogami-san" _Damn what's wrong with me?_ "I'm well thank you. How are you?" He asked nervously, although he could tell the greeting was fake it was a whole lot better than having her turn tail and run.

Kyoko barely kept from flinching at his almost casual use of her name for the second time that day, and responded automatically to his question. She followed it up with an enquiry as to the whereabouts of Yashiro adding her concern in autopilot that she hoped he wasn't unwell. He replied that Yashiro was fine but buried under a mountain of paperwork at the office. Kyoko nodded absentmindedly and they entered the double doors of the LME Acting School – Ren naturally held the door open for Kyoko making the most of his gentleman persona. Once inside Kyoko looked around expectantly.

"What is it Mogami-san?" Rena asked, thankful he managed to say he name properly.

"The President said we, Kanae and me, were wanted here but he didn't say why and held Kanae back for a word." Kyoko explained. Ren was a little jealous that Kotonami-san got called by her first name only when he'd known Kyoko longer but he quickly scolded himself, he was aware that she hadn't been able to make friends thanks to Sho so he took pleasure that she'd managed to reach that stage with her self-proclaimed best friend. Especially given Kanae wasn't one for obvious displays of affection.

Kyoko was just about to ask Ren what he was doing there when an attractive Caucasian woman she'd meet before appeared and spoke to them.

"Tsuruga-kun, Kyoko-chan you're both early. I'm Jones Tina, Director Hielberg's assistant. I you'd care to follow me for the next stage of auditions."

Tina spun on her heel without waiting for a reply and walked determinedly down the corridor. Kyoko immediately followed her, struggling to keep up with the woman's long legs. She expected any moment for Ren to overtake her with ease. _His ridiculously long legs would have no trouble keeping up._ But it didn't happen. Baffled she looked over her shoulder and saw that Ren hadn't moved an inch. Thinking he may not have heard Tina or was still suffering from the stage nerves of the other day. She walked back over to him. She was a meter away when she saw the look in his eyes and it sent a shiver of fear into her heart. It was the same look he'd had on his face once he'd finished fighting the guys who'd tried to pick up Setsu; the same look when he'd almost ran over the kid; the same look when she'd told him he'd smiled while in the role of BJ, it was the shivering fear she'd seen in the hotel. She was scared for him and she moved of her own accord, her heart controlling her every move.

-x-

The minute he spotted her presence, he'd been frozen where he stood. She was older and her hair was shorter but there was no mistaking the woman in front of him, the woman he'd once jokingly called his sister-in-law. Tina. He didn't hear a word she said, well not a word she said at that moment. Her other words from long ago burned his mind.

_Rick's body lay on the ground, there was blood everywhere. Kuon saw Tina scream from across the road. She screamed and in his heart Kuon screamed the same word._

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO_!"_

_Tina ran over to Rick and clutched his torso to her, she shook her head violently, the tips of her hair becoming stained in blood as she yelled:_

"_Rick! Don't! Please! Please! Rick! Don't die!"_

_Kuon couldn't comprehend. There was so much blood. Tina was wasting time talking to Rick, they should be applying pressure to the wounds stop the bleeding or else all Rick's blood would bleed away. He should be running to get an ambulance but he couldn't move. His legs were stuck to the floor he couldn't lift his feet they were weighed down by some invisible force. Still staring at the scene in front of his Kuon felt the warmth leave his body just as it was leaving Rick's. He felt so cold, so very cold. He was frozen both mentally and physically._

"_Unforgivable." Tina's word seemed to force its way into his frozen brain like a blunt knife. It took a moment for Kuon to understand its meaning._

"_I won't forgive you, even until the day you die. Why…why? Why does Rick have to be the one to suffer? This is all your fault…If only you didn't exist, then Rick wouldn't have to suffer! If only he had nothing to do with you…If only Rick hadn't met you, then he wouldn't have to die!"_

_Through Tina's rage all he could do was stand there looking at her, listening to her and believing her. Everything would have been better if he'd never, existed his parent's wouldn't have to live with their shame of a son; he wouldn't hate his life and feel the need to go out lashing at everyone and everything; and Rick…Rick wouldn't be dead. _

_Tina watched him with her tears still falling from her face, the right side of her face covered in Rick's blood as she held him close to her._

"_You Murderer. You should have died in place of Rick! Murderer!"_

_Kuon couldn't argue couldn't think of any response other than – she's right. The knowledge of his crime overwhelmed him and he couldn't make out Tina's words anymore. His world had become like a TV on mute. _

_Rick would have wanted to live, he had a life, what did he, Kuon, have? Would anyone ever miss him, was there anyone who benefitted from him being alive, had anyone ever benefitted from him being alive?_

_The ambulance a passer-by called arrived too late. The siren didn't have any effect on those present - they barely heard it because of their own thoughts and emotions. The paramedics managed to convince Tina to move aside and get treatment, she moved stiffly not completely there. One of the paramedics started taking off Rick's possessions so they could have a better idea of the state he was in. Tina screamed like a banshee. The stopped as she ran back to Rick's body clutching it possessively, not wanting them to hurt him, despite Rick going to a place beyond pain. They tried to reason with her but she was beyond reason. That may be why she did what she did. _

_One of the paramedics had removed the large watch Rick wore. The watch had been a gift off Kuon for the man he considered a brother's 21__st__ birthday present. Rick had teased him about it saying the watch was probably the same price as a car and he'd rather have one of those. Tina had felt embarrassed about her present after she'd seen it and jealous that a kid could buy her boyfriend something far more expensive than she could afford even with her job. Seeing it she hurled it at Kuon and it hit him in the stomach. Kuon barely felt it._

"_Pick it up" Tina commanded scornfully. Kuon did exactly what she said; he had no right to argue with her now._

"_Put it on." He did, it felt alien to him, the leather wasn't used to wrapping around such a small wrist, and it put up resistance to his attempts to push the metal through the hole. When he succeeded he waited like a soulless automaton for her next instruction._

"_Live, you murderer, live every day with this shackle so you know the weight of your crime. The weight of the honest life you took." Tina said cruelly, vindictively, releasing all the anger and sorrow she felt into him._

"_Get out of my sight." She finally barked, unable to stand his presence any more. He did. Kuon ran, he didn't know where he went but eventually he was home. He let himself in and sat in the living room, waiting for God to strike him down for his crime._

_He didn't go to the funeral; he gave his report to the police from the comfort of his own home. He received hate mail from Tina, his parents didn't let him see it but he knew she did. They even tried to talk to Tina's parents at one point but they were at their wits end too and letting Tina write the letters seemed to be the only relief from her agony she got._

_He sat most of the day in the same spot he'd sat when he returned home that life changing day. Desperate to fly free but weighed down, unable to move._

-x-

Ren felt a soft hand on his face wipe away a single tear that had escaped, another one followed and again cool small fingers wiped it away. Blinking he saw Kyoko standing on her tip toes to reach his face, her fingers resting on his cheek ready to catch the next tears. Closing his eyes he drew warm from the contact of her skin. Opening them again, he smiled a smile full of so many emotions at her. Slowly he brought his hand up to his face and enclosed her small slightly callused hand pale hand and brought it down gently, squeezing it faintly. His free hand sought her other hand and brought both their hands together. He stared down at her unable to say anything, but his need for her comforting presence was communicated desperately through his eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?" Sho shouted at them from the end of the corridor.

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>I hope you enjoyed (not the best word given what I've written but I couldn't think of another) this chapter. As we don't know exactly how Ren got the watch I made up my own scenario which I hope you think fits.<br>I would LOVE any reviews, PLEASE *insert Ren's puppy dog eyes*  
>I would like to commend anyone who'd already figured out who Tina was, although the only person I know figured it out was Selene Appia, well done :)<br>Arigator for reading


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven

Sho could barely contain his rage as he saw his Kyoko being forcibly man handled (i.e. willingly holding hands) with _that platform wearing fake of an actor who was – mistakenly - still Japan's No 1 Sexist man_. (Sho had tried to enter a lawsuit against the show that had done the survey - claiming that obviously some of his votes had gone missing or had been incorrectly tallied - but Shoko had stopped him before he made 'an idiot of himself in front of the entire industry' with his immaturity.) Decisively not dwelling on that for now, Sho stormed down the corridor and yanked Kyoko's hands out of Ren's hold, thoroughly annoyed.

Following Sho's intrusion, the reality of what Kyoko and Ren had been doing hit them, but not as much as the newcomer's presence did. Angry at the casual use of her name, his touch and the recent re-living of his behaviour to her that she'd suffered in her Sarah audition; Kyoko pulled her hand out of his and demanded to know what he was up to.

"What are **you **doing here! You're from Akitoki...what are you doing trespassing on LME turf?"

Once again Kyoko could see the Wild West gun fight scenery in her imagination as she prepared for another confrontation. Sho seemed surprisingly glad to see the fire in her eyes - _I knew I still had the biggest influence over her _- and answered in a manner that he believed would keep that influence.

"I've been asked to come to your pathetic agency personally by Director Hielberg."

He revelled in the looks on their faces, knowing that he wasn't exactly telling the truth, but was pleased that they seemed to believe it.

If he was honest...well...it was more like an order than an 'ask' really, and as for 'personally'...it was more like through Hielberg's personal assistant - but they'd never know that. A man well trained in how to lie about himself and get away with it, Sho reinforced his ego - as he'd done many a time before - and continued his little tirade.

"I never would've expected in a million years that this is what would await me when I got here." He scoffed, making Kyoko's blood boil. Not thinking of the effect of his words, other than how they would stick in Kyoko's mind and therefore increase how much she thought about him, he continued his tirade, plucking insults from the air.

"The once so pure and innocent Kyoko now a grade A suck up slut to the mighty Tsuruga Ren. I'm not quite sure how I feel about my so-called-rival using tactics like these to claw her way up the stardom ladder, but then I suppose that's the only way **actresses** like you can succeed in this business."

Anger couldn't even begin to describe how Kyoko felt about what Sho had said. Everyone merely assumed that she was too innocent and oblivious to understand subjects like these, but she had no problem interpreting the connotations and implications of what he'd said about her using 'tactics' on Ren to become a true 'actress'. It was despicable. Her acting as Sarah merely worked to enhance her fury towards the boy, and soon, her grudges were flying out of control and wrapping themselves around his neck.

Ren's anger was equal to, if not greater than, Kyoko's, and he had even less control of his emotions than she did thanks to Tina's reappearance. He took a step forward to give the punk the beating he was long due. Face a mask of cold fury, Ren reached out to grab Sho by the collar of his stupid visual-kei jacket only to be piped to the post by Tina.

She grabbed Sho from behind, swung him around, and gave him a sharp backhand across the face.

"Don't you dare make any insinuation like that again, do you hear me you little brat?" Tina railed at the stunned musician, making the most of her upbringing in a country where women were encouraged to say exactly what they felt, to give Sho the greatest talk down he'd ever received since he'd left his parent's home and his mother's sharp tongue two years ago.

"That young woman is one of the greatest actors, **actor** not **actress **- with all its disgusting implied meanings - I've seen in my entire life, and I've lived in Hollywood, you hick. She is most certainly not the type of person who needs to demean herself for perverted male fantasies in order to be successful. Just because your fame requires you to be a slave to female expectations does not mean that other people with **true** talent who work hard are under the same restrictions. With more publicity this woman could have you condemned to a one-hit wonder rubbish heap. So I suggest you show her a **lot** more respect, you gutter snipe. Director Hielberg has fired better known talents than you when they've failed to behave professionally. And I don't care how well you've done in the last year or so, you're still a newbie and I have enough connections to make it impossible for you to debut internationally, and they won't even require me to give them a reason! So, the question is – do you feel lucky punk, well, do you?"

-x-

Tina was extremely embarrassed by the look of pure adoration that she was receiving from Kyoko. After she'd finished her rant at Sho (including one of her favourite lines from Dirty Harry) the young man had lost all his bravado and quietly asked Kyoko's forgiveness for what he'd said. In her shock of being apologised to so suddenly, the girl had said 'yes' without thinking, at which point Tina had then taken Kyoko away and told her - very loudly - that she shouldn't be so easy to forgive and should make Sho work harder for her approval in the future.

-x-

Ren strongly agreed with Tina's statement as he walked behind her and Kyoko, ignoring Sho's blatant competitive attempt to keep up with him stride for stride (although he did make sure that the young musician didn't overtake him), but made no attempts to vocalise his opinion. He was still reeling at Tina's presence, and right now it was only his years of acting experience that were stopping him…_stopping me from doing what?_ Honestly Ren was too confused to know how he would have responded to Tina's presense without Kyoko bringing him out of himself and the painful memories. Kyoko had made him able to actually think before reacting. He sighed in defeat. Lory, despite everything, was actually very clever, and in this case (yet again) 100% correct - Kyoko really was the greatest Omamori he could ever have. Ren had already acknowledged this a while back, but he took a moment to appreciate her yet again.

Trying to be logical, Ren weighed up what Tina's reappearance meant. He sensed that she didn't realise who he was, she most likely wasn't a good enough actre…_actor,_ to be able to remain so calm and indifferent about his presence. But she knew Kuon well enough that she might figure it out..._or will she? I've changed an awful lot since then...but...I could probably act as Tsuruga Ren the whole time she's here and she'd never even know._ Ren felt sick to his stomach at his own cowardice. _No. I can't do that, I won't run away anymore._ Even if she didn't figure it out he had to talk to her, reveal himself and ask what he couldn't all those years ago, ask for her forgiveness. Even if her feelings were exactly the same as back then, he had to ask._ Not that I deserve to be forgiven._ Unconsciously he squeezed his hand and recalled Kyoko's warmth.

Ren strengthened his conviction. _When the time is right, I will talk to her. But not now. I can't make things awkward for her right now...when she finds out she'll probably want to leave right away, and if she's working for Hielberg then things will be difficult for her. _He would watch carefully, wait patiently, and then they would talk. They would get some form of closure, no matter how painful it might be. His eyes drifted to Kyoko who was walking in step with Tina, gazing at her in adoration similar to how she treated him when they were in senpai-kohai mode. Again he felt sick, before he could talk to Tina he would have to tell Kyoko and he would have to lose that look of adoration. He groaned so softly that only he could hear it. He couldn't predict how Tina would react to his presence, there was a chance she would tell the whole world who he really was and what he'd done.

He wouldn't stop her. _I have no right to stop her._ But then everyone whose opinions he cared about would judge him: _Yashiro_ - his manager and the only man he could accept teasing him, the man who only knew of his peaceful side...how would he react? ; _Maria _– a little girl who had only just overcome her own torment...how would she cope, burdened with the knowledge of her first love's crimes? Her poor, innocent heart...And last, but by no means least: _Kyoko._ How he wanted to run away rather than lose her opinion of him, the small tiny place he held in her heart. _But how much more will she suffer if I don't tell her..? _He wrestled with himself but he knew the real answer. Before he talked to Tina he would tell Kyoko and he would accept whatever she did, and do whatever was best for her, even if it meant losing her.

He was dragged from his thoughts by the sound of Kyoko's giggling as she reacted to something Tina whispered in her ear. He watched her unashamedly as her cheeks became brighter with the laughter, her fine figure accentuated by her grabbing her sides in her mirth. She paused for a moment to catch her breath and as she did so she caught his eye and flashed him an unconscious smile, her eyes bright and warm. Smiling back he was vaguely aware of Tina putting Sho down again and he exchanged a look of glee with Kyoko at Sho's discomfort and weakness in front of her. This almost made Kyoko laugh again but she managed to catch herself and calm down enough to continue walking. As they moved on, he continued to watch her, his previous nerves made content by her happiness. _The time will come when I have to tell her. I may lose everything then, but for now I will make the most of being with her, of her smiles, her pouts, her fantasies. If I must lose her…if that must be my punishment for taking Rick's life...then I will just do everything in my power to protect those smiles. I swear it. _

-x-

Unaware of the familiar man following her, Tina led the three of them to one of the recording booths in the Acting School and explained the situation. While making sure to keep Kyoko near her and far away from Sho. She glanced over at the other man, Tsuruga Ren, and regarded him with little more interest than other famous actors she'd met. She certainly didn't have the kind of issue with him as she did Sho – Ren, for one, had looked ready to step in and defend the girl's honour for what Sho had said (and it was more than a little obvious that there was something going on between him and Kyoko) but she still thought it best to have the girls stick together at times like these, regardless of the pleasant man in their company.

The sense of female solidarity only seemed to heighten as yet another person entered the room, looking, rather hatefully, in the direction of the Fuwa boy. Kanae strode past him with a glare and moved to sit near Kyoko, placing her body in such a way that Sho was blocked from her friend's view.

After what seemed like an hour of awkwardness, the other actors began pouring into the room, each one looking more confused than the next - particularly as they eyed the visual-kei star in the corner. Once she was satisfied that enough people were present, Tina began to explain why they were all there.

"Congratulations. You've all been conditionally selected for Jump Note. However, there are certain things Director Hielberg wishes for me to check on before his decision is finalised - I've been told to pass on his apologies that he can't make this session today."

Knowing that the apology was all hers - her boss most certainly never apologised for anything - Tina refrained from mentioning any more about the absent director. She was the only one who knew where he was - at an appointment for the use of a filming venue - and why he was there this very day - to avoid seeing Lory - and she intended to keep it that way.

Just because he was such a terrible, selfish person at times didn't give Tina any motive to tell the truth - in fact, she was positive sometimes that he'd hired her because she was skilled at doing the opposite - lying about his positive attributes in an attempt to balance out his overbearingly negative personality when he was present.

She cleared her throat.

"As I'm sure you're aware, Jump Note has a lot of focus on music. There are a number of scenes where Ben, Cara and various other characters are either singing or playing musical instruments, therefore, the purpose of this session is to see peoples' ability and what, if any, training will be needed before filming starts."

She smiled broadly around the room, attempting to catch as many eyes as possible before offering her final piece of encouragement:

"Ganbatte."

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>Yay someone finally told Sho off! Sorry self congratulations. I hope no Sho fans are reading this as he's probably going to trampled even worse as this goes on. *mwhahaha*<br>Arigator for reading if you enjoyed it then please LoveMe and review


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

While Kyoko looked at the piece of music she was being asked to sing, Kanae - who had already memorised hers - questioned Tina about Sho's presence. To begin with she'd been jealous of the close relationship the American lady had created with her friend in the short time she'd been held up by Lory - who'd praised her growth in the 'wonderful emotion of LOVE', and the Cupid-esque role she was playing in getting Kyoko to realise her feelings for Ren (She'd had a strong desire to lie and abandon this new title but she knew it would be futile) but once she'd heard what Sho and Tina had done respectively, she'd gained a great deal of respect for the woman, which grew once she saw how she managed herself professionally. The two of them struck up a friendship surprisingly quickly and soon found out they shared a lot in common.

Tina had no problem with informing Kanae of the reason for Sho's presence. As the key composer of the film's music, Hielberg wanted him to hear the voices he'd eventually have to co-ordinate to create music to the film. Kanae looked sceptical when she heard this, but Tina spoke purposefully, yet quietly, as she didn't want Sho to hear her - after she'd basically ripped him up - saying that he had the talent and the ability to do so.

"Also," Tina added, with a determined look on her face, "If we can get it through his inflated ego that other people matter as well, then we'll have done the Japanese entertainment industry a world of good." Kanae volunteered to help the deflation of Sho's ego before going to the recording booth to sing her song.

Kanae wasn't anything special but she produced a decent enough sound for the limited–singing role of Cara's manager, leaving Tina feeling satisfied with the result. Following Kanae, it was Ren's turn. Technically, his role only required him to play the drums to a somewhat basic level - not sing - but he'd asked to have a go anyway, feeling slightly threatened by the idea that Sho would be working closely with the singers, i.e with Kyoko, and he wouldn't be there to protect her. Truthfully, he'd been more than a little shocked to hear that singing was going to be involved in the film - especially when minor roles like the manager and Sarah were expected to sing alongside those in the main band of the show - but he knew he had no right to argue.

Stepping into the recording booth, Ren couldn't help but wonder if he was making a big mistake. Being the first time he'd ever been in a place like this, he shuffled inside and contemplated the best place to stand by the microphone, wondering how close he had to be in order for it to pick up his voice.

Peering out through the glass, he spotted Sho smiling smugly in his direction and had to fight the urge to burst out of the room and strangle him.

He settled for cursing him in his head.

_Screw you_ he thought viciously.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to sing this particular song well with Sho in his vision, Ren's eyes darted through the crowd nearby and sought out Kyoko. The song he was performing was one that had struck a chord with him a long time ago - a tune he remembered from his childhood, when his father had sang it once, loudly, and a bit off key, to his mother on one wedding anniversary.

"**My story is much too sad to be told,  
><strong>**But practically everything leaves me totally cold.  
><strong>**The only exception I know is the case,  
><strong>**When I'm out on a quiet spree,  
><strong>**Fighting vainly the old ennui,  
><strong>**And I suddenly turn and see your fabulous face.**

**I get no kick from champagne.  
><strong>**Mere alcohol doesn't thrill me at all.  
><strong>**So tell me why should it be true?  
><strong>**That I get a kick out of you?  
><strong>**Some like the bop-type refrain,  
><strong>**I'm sure that if, I heard even one riff,  
><strong>**It would bore me terrifically, too.  
><strong>**Yet I get a kick out of you.**

**I get a kick every time I see  
><strong>**You standing there before me.  
><strong>**I get a kick though it's clear to see,  
><strong>**You obviously do not adore me."**

At this line Ren floundered, and silence reigned; the line hit just a bit too close to home. In fact, when he'd first read it he'd laughed to himself at how perfectly it seemed to echo his feelings. Through the glass he saw Tina frown slightly, wondering what was wrong, as she knew the song was unfinished. Not wanting to disappoint her or give Sho more reason to smirk, he came up with a new ending.

"**It don't matter that you,  
><strong>**don't look at me now, because I  
><strong>**know some day you'll get a kick,  
><strong>**yeah, or a boot, you'll get a kick out of me too."**

He wouldn't be threatening Frank Sinatra's place as a singer or lyricist any time soon, but Ren felt better for finally conveying his feelings. He acted suitably embarrassed when he exited the booth and did actually feel awkward when he realised that not just Tina and Sho but everyone in the room had heard his song. Sho, it seemed, had "accidently" put him on speaker in the hope that his competition would make a fool of himself in front of Kyoko. Unfortunately, like so many of his plans, it had gone wrong. Instead of being mocked at his inability to sing, Kyoko went up to her senpai as soon as Tina had given him the thumbs up, to congratulate him and ask why he was so good at everything.

"Not everything Mogami-san. You're superior to me in many areas."

Naturally, Kyoko looked incredulously at him, making him laugh.

"It's true Mogami-san, I couldn't do half of the things you manage in the kitchen - you're probably one of the best cooks I know. " He added, wanting to praise her at any opportunity he could. Wanting to add insult to injury, Ren made sure to announce that, yes, he had eaten her cooking before, extraordinarily loudly so a certain jealous singer could hear him.

"That's just because you don't try Tsuruga-san, if you did I'm sure you'd be brilliant - like you are with practically everything."

Not missing a beat, Ren made the best of the opportunity she'd just unwittingly presented him with.

"Well then...why don't you teach me Mogami-san?"

Kyoko was shocked and even Kanae was surprised at such an obvious attempt to spend more time with her. To give her friend a chance to recover and make Ren understand who he was dealing with, she loudly cut in.

"Kyoko, it's your turn to sing, go on."

She started making shoving motions with her hands.

Still in a slightly catatonic state Kyoko entered the booth.

-x-

Kyoko stared around the recording room; she'd always wondered what it was like in one of these things. Many nights when she'd been waiting for Sho to return she'd thought about it over and over again. She'd repeat the conversation he'd had with her about the first time he'd stepped inside a professional one. It had been just after he was signed, when he still made an effort to talk with his childhood friend. That conversation turned out to be the last proper one they had together, and the last time he'd waited for her to come back from work to eat.

Kyoko was surprised that this memory didn't cause her grudges to fly out; instead it reminded her of how childlike and imperfect he'd always been. She'd known at the time the reason he didn't eat before she arrived was because he couldn't even make himself onigiri without destroying the rice cooker, but she had learned to turn it on its head so it had become a statement of his princely nature. _But he's never really been a prince, he's always been plain clumsy - especially when it's come to people he cares about. That's why his parents never truly understood how far he'd go for his dream..._

"Ready when you are, **your highness**."

Sho's mocking voice came through the speakers and resounded around her. She didn't have to look through the glass to know he'd be smiling with sarcasm.

_He's definitely not a prince...he's a...a...bastard._

She scolded herself for the thought, (only for the use of the word, however, not because it didn't apply to the boy in question) but enjoyed the freedom the word gave her. She was terribly impressed by Jones-san's (Tina had tried to get her to use her given name but had been forced to give up after the fifth try) ability to say whatever she thought with no holds barred, and so focused on ignoring Sho's comment to do Tina and everyone else proud.

The song Kyoko was given had surprised her, she didn't think it was the type of thing Sho…Sarah would sing. It was meant to be performed with other singers but Tina had assured her that the backing track would do all that, so she didn't need to sing both parts. The song was from one of Walt Disney's soundtracks, but she'd never seen it, and Tina refused to tell her more as she didn't want that knowledge affecting her performance. She'd stated that right now Hielberg wanted to hear Kyoko sing, not a character. The song didn't have any opening music so Tina from the other side of the glass counted her in 1, 2, 3…

"**If there's a prize for rotten judgement,  
><strong>**I guess I've already won that.  
><strong>**No man is worth the aggravation...  
><strong>**That's ancient history, been there, done that!"**

At this point the backing track kicked in and her singing got a retort from bodiless voices, strangely reminding her of her grudges every time she internally argued with herself.

**[Who'd you think you're kidding?  
><strong>**He's the Earth and heaven to you.  
><strong>**Try to keep it hidden,  
><strong>**Honey, we can see right through you.  
><strong>**Girl, you can't conceal it,  
><strong>**We know how your feeling and  
><strong>**Who you're thinking of]**

"**No chance, no way, I won't say it no, no."**

Kyoko argued strongly and the recorded voices seemed to mock her - oddly, all she could imagine was President Lory in the background, egging them on to reply:

**[You swoon, you sigh, why deny it uh-oh]**

"**It's too cliché,  
><strong>_And baka and destroying..._Kyoko thought viciously.  
><strong>I won't say I'm in love."<br>**

"**I thought my heart had learned its lesson,  
><strong>**It feels so good when you start out.  
><strong>**My head is screaming-  
><strong>_And all my grudges...  
><em>**get a grip girl...  
><strong>**Unless you're dying to cry your heart out."  
><strong>_No! Not again I've cried enough tears; I don't want to suffer anymore.  
><em>Kyoko tried to ignore the backing voices, to keep them from making her think about something she didn't want to think about, but it was useless.

**[You keep on denying,  
><strong>**Who you are and how you're feeling.  
><strong>**Baby, we're not buying,  
><strong>**Hon, we saw you hit the ceiling.  
><strong>**Face it like a grown up,  
><strong>**When you gonna own up,  
><strong>**That you got, got, got it bad]  
><strong>

"**Wrong. No chance, no way,  
><strong>**I won't say it, no, no."  
><strong>Kyoko finished the line with a strong head shake. Out of the corner of her eye she caught Ren's concerned gaze - he smiled at her supportively.

**[Give up, give in,  
><strong>**Check the grin you're in love]  
><strong>The voices taunted.

"**This scene won't play,  
><strong>**I won't say I'm in love."**

**[You're doing flips read our lips you're in love]**

Desperately holding up the defences around her heart from the decidedly annoying inanimate voices and Ren's caring gaze, she sang passionately.

"**You're way off base I won't say it.  
><strong>**Get off my case I won't say it."**

**[Girl don't be proud, it's ok you're in love]**

"**Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...  
><strong>**At least, out loud...  
><strong>**I won't say I'm in…love."  
><strong>Holding on to the last note with sweet desperation, Kyoko closed her eyes as she felt the walls around her heart crumble and disintegrate.

-x-

When Kyoko had the courage to walk out of the booth, she was greeted by silence and stares. Like Ren's performance, they'd heard it, but it had superseded all their expectations. Sho's gaze was the hardest and most penetrating; like crying, singing was something she used to do often in his presence until his awkwardness about it had forced her into silence, and since then she'd only done it alone when she knew it wouldn't bother him.

_I don't know her at all do I?_

As soon as the thought entered his head, Sho argued with it.

_Of course I do._

When a small part of him, the conscience that most people thought had disappeared years ago, argued that actually he didn't, his immature reply was:_ I certainly know her better than __**he**__ does_.

The 'he' in question was astounded. _She thinks __**I**__ can do everything?_ Her singing had been incredible, both technically and in its ability to move people. Of course, the fact that the song fitted her situation-fighting off love-helped._ But even if it had been a different song_...Ren thought proudly, _she'd manage it and still be amazing._ His pride and love for her escaped from him in waves and everyone in the room unconsciously became happier.

Tina noticed the look on Ren's face and smiled. She'd taken an instant liking to him, just like she had to Kyoko. Something about the way he stood and his reaction to things at times reminded her ever so slightly of a man she used to was almost like he knew Rick and was mimicking him without realising it. She glanced between the two actors and immediately thought that they'd make a good couple, what with them both being so passionate about acting and the way they clearly cared about each other.

_After all, didn't Kyoko go back for Ren when he was accidentally left behind?_

Tina remembered the instance and found herself questioning it - although it was awfully touching to see the girl so obviously concerned, she had no idea why Ren didn't appear to be moving at that time. It didn't really make any sense - he'd heard what she'd said, and they'd made eye contact...

_Oh well, maybe my Japanese wasn't good enough,_ Tina dismissed.

She strode over and got Kyoko's attention.

"Kyoko-chan, that was brilliant. I couldn't have asked for better," she announced, causing the girl's face to light up, "Now then...I believe you, Kanae-chan and Tsuruga-kun are free to go."

The three in question all looked thoroughly pleased and made their way to go. As they exited the room they heard Tina's voice freeze over.

"Where do you think you're going Shoutaro-kun? We've still got a lot of work to do before you can leave."

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>Gomennasai for the very musical chapter but I had an urge to have them sing songs that I thought fit them. Kyoko's song was rather obvious but I had an inspiration with Ren's on holiday, after all he's generally quite boring when Kyoko isn't involved.<br>Arigato for all the reviews everyone gets a 100 LoveMe stamp for their efforts, please continue to give your thoughts. Arigato :)


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Ren watched as Kanae questioned Kyoko's musical ability with amusement. Kyoko swore blind that she'd never had any training other than the vocal exercises at LME Acting Classes, and Kanae found herself once again amazed, and a little annoyed, at her friend's ability.

_Though I suppose that's why she's my rival..._

A sudden fire had been lit underneath her the moment Kyoko had started singing, and now she wanted nothing else than to work harder than ever to compete with her friend. So determined was she to hit the iron while it's hot, that she decided she would leave, right there and then, to talk to one of the singing coaches in the department.

Of course, that would mean leaving Kyoko and Ren, on their own..._Well, needs must._

"Kyoko, I've got some jobs to do so I'll see you later," she announced, before turning to face Ren, "Oh, and Tsuruga-san...could relay to my apology to Yashiro for the other day? And make sure to tell him that when I have to intervene, nothing and no one can ever stop me - anyone that tries will face the consequences...can you tell him that?"

Having passed on her – if you do anything to Kyoko you'll have me to deal with – threat successfully, but in a discrete way so that Kyoko wouldn't catch on, she gave Kyoko a half hug, half pinch, on the shoulders and left.

Being left alone together resulted in a moment of awkward silence. Ren was happy that Kanae seemed to have accepted his presence in Kyoko's life as a necessary evil, but disliked the fact that it meant that even a relative stranger could see his feelings for the girl.

Kyoko on the other hand, was extremely nervous; and she really wished Kanae hadn't left her alone with Ren. It had been Kanae's presence alone that had kept Kyoko sane enough to stand so being so close to him after that song had left her shell shocked from the discovery it revealed. Unconsciously, she began humming the tune, despite the fact that she wished she'd never heard the song and it's pointed taunting. Hearing her, Ren chuckled gently to himself.

"Do you have the song from earlier stuck in your head, Mogami-san?" Ren asked, glad of something to dispel the uncertain air hovering between them.

"Hai, something like that." She murmured, blushing hard and severely wishing she couldn't feel the warmth on her cheeks or his questioning stare.

Walking as quickly as her short legs would allow, they were soon back in the main building and Kyoko once again saw the President in his plain boring clothes. She heard Ren's intake of breath.

"Oh, I'd forgotten." He muttered to himself, guiltily. He saw Kyoko's confused look, and once the President had entered the lift, he explained.

"Today's the anniversary of his wife's death."

Even though she'd never met the woman, Kyoko immediately bowed her head in respect of her, and felt her own sorrow for the President coursing through her heart. Although she was sure it would be a sad story, she felt the need to ask.

"Is that the reason why he's wearing such plain clothes, to respect his wife's memory?"

"Sort of, but it's more complicated than that. You see, the President was originally a talent manager-like Yashiro-and that suit was his 'lucky' suit. He'd worn it the day he interviewed for his job and the day he found his first talent. One day when he was wearing it, he was accosted by a wardrobe assistant of the drama his charge was in. She harangued him for wearing such a 'boring and lifeless' suit but Lory wasn't having any of it. Eventually though, the assistant dragged him to the costume department and forced him to try on one of her homemade creations – a matador's costume. While he was changing, Jun, the assistant, hid the suit, meaning he had to spend the rest of the day in the outfit. They didn't cross paths again until a few weeks later, when the entire scenario took place again, except the brand new Jun creation was a Greek chiton (like a toga). This continued for a number of months until Lory sought Jun out and asked her if she could specially design an outfit for him for a first dinner date with the woman he'd fallen in love with. She agreed and made the most ludicrous, demeaning outfit in the history of creation - mainly because she wanted to embarrass him in front of this other woman- but...well...when she finished it, the President asked her out to dinner and admitted it was her he'd fallen for."

Ren took a breath, almost as if preparing himself for what was to come. The story so far was sweet, but it wouldn't be long until it all turned sour.

"They married, had a son - Marie-chan's father, and the President carried on wearing her creations - no matter how ridiculous or exotic they'd become. It was all apparently perfect...until Jun fell ill, of course...Leukaemia...she only had two years left when they diagnosed her. Lory said he found the suit that started it all amongst her possessions after she'd died, and vowed to wear it each year to remind himself of the day they met and strengthen his resolve for facing the next year without her...even now he still calls it his 'lucky suit', even after all he's been through, but...I guess it was what brought him happiness for a time..."

By the end of his story Kyoko was crying, not her usual tears that were loud, noisy and often unnecessary, but her true tears. They were the tears that recognised true sadness like the abandonment of a mother or the loss of a loved one. He handed her a handkerchief and tried not to think of his own losses – Rick - and the tears Kyoko would cry for him if she ever found out what happened that day.

"He's so strong." Kyoko finally said, wanting to talk out her emotions so she could put them into some sort of order. "I've thought for ages that love made you weak and ruined everything, but…"

Ren stared at her, half hoping but half fearing to hope. Her tears slowly dried up and she made to return the handkerchief, but upon seeing the state it was in, she put it in her pocket so she could clean it before returning it to him. She looked Ren directly in the eyes and gave him a smile of uncertain emotion. He smiled back encouragingly, though for what he didn't know, wanting to see the smile that made him strong.

"Arigato...Re...Tsuruga-san. I've got to check that Sawara-san doesn't have any requests for me yet. Have a good day." Bowing deeply, Kyoko turned to leave.

With _ At least out loud I won't say I'm in love _ still ringing in her head, Kyoko walked away from the only man she thought she could possibly concede to caring about as more than a friend or senpai.

-x-

That night Kyoko tossed and turned on her futon, trying to get to sleep and to not think about the song that still controlled her mind. She'd been lucky enough to have tonnes of labour-intensive jobs to do for Sawara, after she'd left Ren, to distract her throughout the day, but once she was home she found herself with no such luck. Okami-san and Tashio had given her a washing-up task to do when she'd asked them for it, but it only seemed to occupy her hands, not her brain. It was only years of practice that had prevented Kyoko from breaking a whole variety of crockery while her emotions started to fluctuate. Eventually, much to Kyoko's disappointment, all of the chores for the evening were complete and she had no option but to go to her room.

In the darkness she held Corn tightly in her fist next to her heart. Fear was coursing through her - fear of the truth, reality, and a future she couldn't control. Kyoko couldn't accept what her mind was telling her - after denying any kind of affection for so long, it seemed almost impossible to believe that maybe, just maybe, something was stirring inside.

She felt...something for Tsuruga Ren.

Something that felt a lot like...

Curling up tighter, she strained to get a hold on the box deep inside of her, willing the demons left there to seal it back up and throw away the key, no matter how damaged the walls. But she couldn't. The grudges clung on valiantly but they were no match for the fluttering angels that had broken through, spilling from the box and tearing down her heart's protection.

She wanted to blame something or someone for the situation she was in, and distract herself because, despite Lory's insistence that this kind of realisation would be one of the happiest moments in her life, she felt thoroughly miserable.

Her grudges held an emergency conference in the last safe place for them - the portion of her brain still filled with the misdeeds of Fuwa Sho - and it soon turned into a full on argument, none of them reaching a conclusion on who was to blame.

_This is all Tina's fault._

_No. It's not. She was only doing her job - she didn't choose the song. _

_Right...so it's Director Hielberg's fault._

_No. Blaming somebody who wasn't even there is unfair, and how can you be so ungrateful and disrespectful to such a famous and incredible director? _

_Well, what about President Lory? Yes...he was the one who forced us into the stupid LoveMe section. _

_But if we weren't in the LoveMe section then we wouldn't be an actress and wouldn't have been able to start the growing process of 'Mogami Kyoko'. _

_Yes, but we don't need to grow __**this**__ emotion - it's nothing but trouble. President Lory has every right to believe in love - what with the story off his wife and all...but that doesn't mean he has the right to interfere with everybody else's wish to remain a pure maiden for the rest of their lives! _

_You've already let Hielberg off because he wasn't there, if you don't let Lory off then that's double standards. _

_Fine, it isn't Lory's fault...What about Kanae? _

_Now you're just being ridiculous, how on earth could it be her fault? _

_Well...she did force us to sing the song after Tsuruga-san said all those inappropriate things about us being equal to him. _

_I will not blame my best friend! _

_We don't need to. _

_We don't? _

_No it's obvious whose fault it is. _

_It is? _

_Of course, it's Tsuruga-san's fault. If he still hated us we wouldn't feel like this. I mean, how are we supposed to offer protection from the Co-star killer and Emperor of the Night?_

Silence reigned for a moment at the Grudges' discussion table. They all turned on the grudge who'd made the suggestion of blaming Ren.

_Get her. How dare you suggest we blame Tsuruga-san, it's not his fault we fell for him. Yes, he shouldn't use the Emperor of the Night on a pure hearted Japanese maiden, but he is not to be blamed. He has been an extremely generous senpai. He's helped us in so many ways. There's no way it's his fault. If anyone is to blame it's us. How could we be so stupid to fall for him? We're plain and ugly. We barely deserve to be his kohai. It's only because he is so generous that we can even register in his existence. He deserves better than us._

"He deserves better than me."

Although it broke her heart to think it, there was no other reasoning Kyoko could come up with that night.

_He already has someone he loves and they deserve to be together. I can't make things awkward between us and I can't cause problems for him. I will act like the best kohai in the world and not bother him with my disgusting unworthy feelings._

Slow, sad but determined, Kyoko rebuilt the defences around her heart and put a heavy padlock on it, feeling more and more weighed down by her inadequacy. Suitably convinced that she'd buried her feelings, Kyoko rolled over again and proceeded to fall into a heavy sleep - one that neither tormented her nor offered her any hope.

But she had no way of knowing what the fates had in store for her.

-x-

Hielberg listened to the recordings from earlier that day while drinking one of the bottles of beer he'd brought with him for his own enjoyment. He couldn't stand sake - _Carona all the way_. It had been a productive day both for Tina and for him. He'd managed to secure a large enough hotel for them all in Kyoto that would allow them to film both inside and out, while Tina had…_well I guess I've got to say she's done it again._ He was mightily impressed by his assistant and couldn't help but feel smug when he remembered how there'd been opposition to him hiring her at the start.

_And now look at her...she's a consort battleship, easily dealing with any problem he chucked her way _he thought, proud of his protégée._ Now all she needs is to find herself a nice young man..._a part of his brain considered in a fatherly manner, and that was the moment he decided he'd had enough to drink that evening.

_I'm turning into Lory..._he shuddered, _but then, considering the talent Lory seems to have acquired over the last few years, maybe taking a leaf out of his book wouldn't be such a bad idea... _Tina had related to him the effect of Kyoko's singing on everyone, and once he'd heard it he had to agree that it was pretty emotive stuff. _She's turning out to be a right little find her...I'll have to make the most of it._

Tina entered the room with the last of the paperwork they needed to prepare that night. It was already late but Hielberg knew there would probably be problems as soon as they started contacting people in the morning, and knew that it would only get worse the later in the day they began. He couldn't waste time in the morning on paperwork.

"This one's Kyoko Mogami's, I mean Mo…"  
>"Don't bother Tina, I commend your effort to sink into Japanese culture but it's just the two of us and, knowing my head right now, I'll probably get them confused it you put their names the wrong way round."<p>

Tina didn't risk getting into the conversation that technically it was just 'the other way round' rather than 'wrong', because Hielberg was the kind of person where if anything was different or the opposite of how he usually did something or had been brought up to do, it was automatically wrong. She'd already had an unnecessarily long conversation with him and the English manner of dating things in the order of day, month then year rather than month, day and then year, which had been completely unsuccessful in calming him down so he didn't verbally abuse the poor English intern at the company.

"So we're offering Kyoko the part of Sarah and a wage of…"

"Excuse me, but when did I ever say she was playing the part of Sarah?" Hielberg asked haughtily.

_You didn't, but that's the part she auditioned for and you've never given her any audition pieces for any of the other characters. Unless…the song, Sarah doesn't sing, she's a model, so why would Kyoko have to sing that piece..? Unless she's going to be playing…_

Tina looked up at her boss, surprised. It wasn't that she thought Kyoko couldn't handle the piece, it was just..._well...it's quite a part for her to be handling, she's only 17 after all._

Hielberg saw the look on his assistant's face and chuckled with amusement. Plucking out his cigarette box from his top pocket he took one out and lit it, before breathing in and releasing a cloud of smoke, its heavy sent filling the room at a record speed.

"Yes Tina, I'm giving Kyoko **that** part. It wouldn't do for the antagonist the audience is supposed to hate to have more life and chemistry with Ben than his love interest."

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>Finally got around to my explanation for Lory's plain suit. Sorry if this is a slightly depressing chapter. Despite being the writer I'm annoyed with Kyoko's determination to close off her heart but it means there can be more fun later. Hope you don't hate me too much. Thanks for all you're reviews, please don't stop. Arigato :D<p> 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Sho was pissed, in fact the last time he'd been this annoyed, he'd thought _that damned Beagle_ and Kyoko had become an item. He knew Kyoko was safe from the stalker, but now he had to deal with the threat of Tsuruga Ren – yet again. He couldn't fathom why _that guy_ spent time with his childhood friend or seemed to even like someone like her. _When you're the most sought after man in show business, you should be with the most sought after woman, not some plain girl like Kyoko, leave her for me…n…men, other men._

What also irritated him was that everyone seemed to be on _that phoney's_ side; from Tina to every person he seemed to meet. None of them had a bad thing to say about him, and all of them found it sweet how he looked after his kohai or that the two of them gave each other 'the look' on occasion.

On top of this issue was the fact that he was finding it increasingly difficult to talk about Kyoko's plainness and lack of ability. Despite Shoko's efforts he had seen Kyoko's interview for the end of Dark Moon. He hadn't known any woman could look so..._stunning. No...the best word would be breath-taking. _

_I can't breathe because you, you draw me in and see through me...and I can't do anything to stop..._

_ARRRRRRGH! NO, I WILL NOT THINK UP LYRICS BECAUSE OF HER. I am not in love with my childhood maid. _

Sho tried to convince himself for the millionth time since he'd heard her hauntingly beautiful voice from the song booth.

He'd not intended to have her voice audible to the rest of the room, he hadn't wanted to embarrass her like he'd attempted with Ren, but as soon as she'd begun he'd frozen. The ability and strength she possessed had knocked everything out of him, not for the first time since he'd thrown her away was he impressed by her, and shocked at what she was capable of. He couldn't avoid the twinge of regret that she wasn't by his side anymore but appeared to be by Ren's instead. He couldn't even be confident anymore that she was still oblivious to Ren's feelings; after all, she'd been holding his hand before he'd interrupted them.

If he was honest, (which he seemed to be avoiding a lot lately) he was afraid, afraid that his place in Kyoko's mind, his influence over her was waning. Ren's presence made him feel like he had when the Beagles had taken away his spot at number one in the charts - his position was precarious. He had to do something about it. Trying to be optimistic, he considered the undoubtedly little screen time the two actors would have together and felt a hint of relief. Couple that with the fact that the two were antagonists - at each other's throats for the most part - and you eliminate the chances of any romantic improvements. They'd be spending too much time at each other's throats for that. _Let life imitate art and keep them apart._

Sho smiled to himself at his musical genius - _I can make amazing lyrics without even thinking about it, no wonder women can't keep themselves from me. _He walked slowly to his destination for the first cast meeting, but as he stopped at a vending machine to get a drink, his phone buzzed angrily in his pocket. Knowing who that buzzing meant, Sho pointedly ignored his manager's call and let it go through to answer phone. After he'd finished his can and crushed it he listened to the message.

"Sho, I know you heard me calling, and you're going to be in for it as soon as I get you."

_All the more reason to prolong this walk then,_ Sho thought, until the next sentence had him sprinting down the corridor.

"Director Hielberg is here now and is giving you 2 minutes to get here or you're fired."

He stopped breathless outside the room, taking a second to catch his breath and put on his public persona he stepped in. Everyone was already there and Kyoko, who noticed his entrance, shot him a look of daggers across the room, unimpressed with his lack of professionalism. Hielberg, on the other hand, ignored his entrance. Shoko irritably beckoned him over to the chair next to hers and he strode over as quickly as his pride would let him _I will not look like a dog brought to heel._ Once sat down he tuned in to what Hielberg was saying:

"…working hard and for professionalism from each and every one of you."

Quite a few people shot Sho looks at that line, which he affected not to notice.

"Now, you should all know the story if you're half as dedicated as you've all assured me you are, so let's crack to it. In front of you are the basic scripts and I've had all of your individual parts highlighted - that means no screwing up. If there's a kid in Mensa at the age of two, I'm sure you can all read the correct lines."

The fact that he'd been told this information a few years back, and that the child would have grown up since then, didn't register as important for Hielberg - he was a great believer in never letting the truth get in the way of a good story, especially if the story motivated people.

Everyone opened their scripts and two gasps were heard from opposite ends of the room. Having expected this, Hielberg looked up unimpressed and derogatively asked:

"What the hell's wrong?"

Knowing he'd feel more comfortable once he'd gotten rid of the first curse of a day, Hielberg prepared himself for the drama he was inevitably about to witness. On his left, a livid Inoue Yoko used all her acting ability to appear calm.

"There seems to be a mistake with my script Director Hielberg. According to this I'm playing Sarah, but my character is Cara."

She smiled winningly at him and batted her eyelashes. She would have stood a better chance if she'd gotten angry at him - Hielberg didn't appreciate women assuming that if they did that they'd get their own way, especially if they thought batted eyelashes would affect him. Respect, as he saw it, worked both ways.

"Oh really, your character's Cara is it? Oh...well, I apologise sincerely as obviously I'm only the director of this movie and therefore can't have a clue about what's going on with the casting. How about you come and sit in my chair and I sit where you are at the bottom of the hierarchy and listen to your whimsical ideas of how to produce my film?"

Seeing the frightened look on Yoko's face he sneered.

"No? Well then, I suggest you don't question the script and sort out how you're going to deliver your lines for scene two. Now, beginners, Tina will read the stage directions."

Kyoko wasn't prepared in the slightest to begin. She'd gasped when she saw another character name next to hers, but she hadn't been able to put it into focus for some reason. Kanae's eyes widened as she peered over her friend's shoulder at her script. Pride, with only a hint of jealousy, coursed through her veins at her friend's accomplishment.

Tina began in a clear voice to read the information related to the first scene, which, after a change in script, was Sarah's betrayal. Ren plunged in head first, and surprisingly, considering she hadn't known she'd be reading this part until a moment ago, Yoko did extremely well - although her Sarah was a lot more overtly hostile than Kyoko's had been. Kyoko was enthralled by Ren's acting even when he was just reading the lines, and appreciated the scene from a whole new perspective - even managing to forget about Sho's presence in the room. The scene ended with only relatively minor complaints from Hielberg, and finally Kyoko and Kanae's first scene was up. Tina read them in:

**[The camera turns slowly around a room, there are many posters on the wall, all of the same person ranging from the age of seven to 18. In the middle of the room is the person herself, Cara, child star and nationally renowned singer, who is hunched over a small table that's covered with organised piles of music scores and other papers. There is a knock on the door and another woman enters, she is Yana, Cara's manager.]**

**Yana: The building's going to be locked up soon, if you want to leave for the night you need to go know.**

Kanae spoke the line crisply but with obvious affection for her charge and acknowledgment of her ways.

**Cara: Hai, thanks Yana I'll be out in a minute.**

The entire room that had been waiting with baited breath to see who spoke these lines and were astounded when Kyoko, sounding older and more sophisticated, ladylike but also relaxed and enthusiastic, replied. Sho immediately flicked through the script to confirm his fear, felt it lodge permanently in his stomach. _Oh gods please don't let life imitate art._

-x-

Ren wondered if Yashiro knew about this or if the President has planned it, but he couldn't find evidence for either. Yashiro hadn't been acting strange earlier on today, and although he was in fan girl glee now, it seemed that he was just as shocked by the news as he was. As for the President interfering, he didn't think that even he could influence Hielberg to make this kind of decision. In the end he decided to take it at face value, believing that Hielberg had seen her talent and put her in the best female role because of it. The thought made him proud, with this film she'd be able to shake off the tight casting of mean roles. _However..._ if he'd felt nervous playing Cain to her Setsu, it was nothing compared to playing Ben to her Cara. _What if I slip up while in character..? She's the only one who can do that to me. _He was afraid that the filming would give him false hopes, and make him do something that would cause her to flee whenever she saw him. _No...I can do this _he thought, valiantly trying to convince himself. _I am my Otou-san's equal, and he would be able to do this with no problems. _

He felt a bit calmer with the reasoning; unfortunately he failed to recognise the effect that Kuon's hero worship of his father had on those thoughts.

-x-

The read through went well and everyone left satisfied with the result - well, almost everyone. Anyone would be annoyed if they believed they were going to get a lead role and ended up playing a smaller, less likeable character. In fact, a few people made a point of trying to console the actress as they left, but their sympathy soon disappeared when they witnessed her attitude. Instead of gracefully accepting Hielberg's decision and making the most of her situation, Inoue Yoko was practically breathing fire.

When Kyoko had walked past her to leave the room, she couldn't help but feel the waves of anger and jealously pouring from her in a lovely green aura. She'd wanted to go over there and apologise but Kanae had stopped her - for good reason too. Concerned for Kyoko's physical well-being, Kanae had refused to let her anywhere near the disappointed actress until Yoko had had time to cool down. Almost dragging Kyoko from her wish to appease the woman she'd inadvertently stolen the best part from, Kanae sat her down to give her a talking to as soon as it was safely possible. Before she even had the chance to open her mouth, Kyoko was already speaking.

"But Kanae...I stole the part from her, I should apologise...I don't even know why I have the part - there's no way I can act-"

"Are you suggesting that Director Hielberg doesn't know what he's doing?"

Tina, who'd followed them with the hopes of encouraging her two favourite actors, chipped in with a dangerous edge to her voice, freezing Kyoko to the spot. She shook her head vigorously at the implications of agreeing and Tina smiled. _She's just so full of cutene - no, _'_kawaii'-ness; wait is that even a word? Probably not..._but Tina believed the combination suited her new friend. While she was still getting used to speaking Japanese again, Tina was pleased to see that all of the actors were in the same boat with their English skills. She'd been extremely impressed by a lot of the people's ability at LME, but, once again, she'd been much more so by her three favourite actors' skills in the language. Ren and Kyoko were surprisingly good with their pronunciation and Kanae had great technical knowledge, and in the short time form their audition to today's meeting they had all improved. _Ren could pass for a native._

"Director Hielberg chose you specifically for this part. Now don't you think it's a bit cruel, not to mention disrespectful, to question his choice?"

She knew she was taking the guilt tripping too far, but she believed in using every trick she had as a female to convince Kyoko of her errors in her judgement - primarily her innate ability to use words in a manner of emotional manipulation. Tina had always considered it an evolutionary ability for women to be able to get the idiots of the human race, also referred to as men, to do things for the female advantage - it was no different when using it on other females.

"But...but…I've never played a part like that before Jones-san. What if I can't do it? Especially the love part." Kyoko answered, lingering sadly on the word 'love' but otherwise speaking comprehensively.

Kanae stared at Kyoko with blatant surprise. _Since when has she been able to say the word 'love' so easily?_ Noticing Ren standing just at the edge of their group, wanting a chance to speak to Kyoko, she immediately became suspicious. _What have you been up to Tsuruga-san?_ She asked threateningly through her gaze at him. Ren stared back with a poker face but Kanae read in his eyes, _I haven't done anything._ She also managed to read some disappointment that he hadn't done anything, and that merely succeeded to put her back on edge.

Since her decision to be less hostile to the idea of him having a relationship with Kyoko, she done some digging to back up the information Kyoko had told her all those days ago. She'd found out that Ren hadn't officially been in a relationship since a year and a few months ago, from roughly the time Kyoko had to be his temporary manager. That was a surprisingly long time for a man, let alone a man like Tsuruga Ren. Considering her two older brothers at home she wondered just how frustrated he must be feeling by now about their lack of romantic progress - her brothers definitely would've been like that with a girl like Kyoko. In fact...Kanae had a strong suspicion that it wouldn't be long until his control cracked, breaking that gentlemanly character of his and impregnating Kyoko before she even knew what had happened. Kanae shuddered. She knew her view was extreme but considering the fact that her siblings already had six children between them and she wasn't even twenty yet, she had a rather unusual view of family life...and of how sudden new additions could be. She really didn't want Kyoko to end up like that.

Not knowing the milestone Kyoko had achieved by saying the word 'love' in an easy manner, Tina unintentionally made the situation slightly awkward by bringing Ren, who she'd also just spotted, into the conversation.

"But just because you've never played a part before doesn't mean you can't do it. Anyway, I'm sure we can all help you out if it gets tough. Also, you're extremely luckily as you already know your co-star and have a good relationship with him - it'll be a piece of cake getting past any of the awkward parts, right Tsuruga-kun?"

-x-

_Oh no...I forgot about that part..._Kyoko wailed internally. She became even more nervous as Ren smiled one of his genuine smiles. Hastily focusing on her recently rebuilt fortification, she rebuilt any parts that crumbled at the sight of that smile and got to work forgetting the false hope it inspired in her. _It's just a smile, he only used it in the Dark Moon scene because Katsuki doesn't hate Mizuki, all it proves he doesn't hate me, it doesn't mean anything else!_ She screamed internally at herself. She forced her eyes to gaze in his general direction, but couldn't look him in the eye, especially when he replied, slightly embarrassedly, to Tina's question.

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>Arigator for all you're reviews. I know this chapters kinda boring but its a build up, also I thought it might be a nice break from all the action and slight angst of the last few chapters.<br>As usual would love to hear from everyone who reads - positive and negative views are equally appreciated, so please review. :D


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Locked onto Kyoko, Ren read her actions and became all too aware that it was avoidance. He hurt a twinge hurt by her reaction. _Is it really that bad to be working with me?_ He thought, ignoring for a moment that only a short while ago he was thinking that it might be a complete disaster to act as Ben with Kyoko as his romantic interest.

But it was his role to be her senpai at these moments, and help her grow as a straight and proud as a tree…_or something along those lines._ He would calm her down and help her until she found her character and was roaring to go. Hiding any feelings he might have about Kyoko or any fear that Tina's interest in his opinion immediately instilled in him, he replied to Tina's question and added his encouragement.

"Jones-san is right Mogami-san. You weren't feeling confident about Mio and look at the success you had with her. I'm sure you'll be able to portray a magnificent Cara."

He couldn't avoid a slight flush in his cheeks at this point, but he forced himself to continue in spite of Kanae's, Yashiro's and even Tina's pointed gaze.

_Why can't people leave me alone after they realise how awkward this situation is for me given my unrequited love. Damn... why am I sounding like a depressed shoujo heroine – I'm a guy for pity's sake!_

"Anyway...as for the 'love' element, I'm sure you'll manage it wonderfully and we can depend on each other can't we? After all, I taught you the actor's rule of the heart didn't I?"

Ren could actually feel Yashiro's disappointed stare piercing through him, but he purposely turned away from his manager to try and coax a response out of a frozen Kyoko. _What do you want me to say Yukihito?_ His embarrassment and anger made him berate Yashiro in his head, forcing him to feel annoyed enough to call him by his first name, without honorifics (though he seemed to be doing that a lot lately). _If I don't act like this is nothing she's going to run off stuttering about how she must protect her purity for the rest of her life like she did to Kijima at the party._ Ignoring Yashiro's sighs of disappointment Ren closed the gap between himself and Kyoko and tried to get eye contact. She hadn't thrown herself on the floor begging for forgiveness or thanked him in that sincere way she usually used to make him feel this miserable or unnoticed. He didn't know what to do.

Eventually, Kyoko straightened up from her fixated gaze on the floor and looked up at Ren's face. He was relieved to see it was relatively calm, and smiled down at her without being able to help it. Her eyes boggled for a moment but she recovered quickly and bowed to him.

"Arigato Tsuruga-san. I'll try my best...you're right as usual."

She replied and unconvincingly tagged on at the end: "Ganbarimasu."

"Ganbatte, Mogami-san." Ren returned, more confidently than he felt.

He offered his hand to Kyoko, Tina and Kanae (much to her surprise but she took it begrudgingly) and brought all of their hands together, offering both comfort to Kyoko and a sense of nostalgia to the time she'd just joined Dark Moon.

"Let's make a film that surpasses everyone's expectations and preconceptions about the manga. Ganbatte."

-x-

Hielberg watched the exchange from a distance with mixed emotions. He couldn't quite understand what was going on and it was annoying him. As a director, Hielberg was constantly watching people - their dynamics as they interacted with others and as individuals, how the lighting affected what aspects of their body you saw and therefore what knowledge you gained about their emotions at that particular moment from what was visible. This skill was extremely useful in giving him the ability to direct realistic and believable scenes; however, the side effect was that he was incurably curious about everything and anything. The fact it killed the cat would never stop him, and unfortunately his fame meant he had less reservations about being blunt and often he was told the truth and then more so.

He watched with increasing interest as Kanae released herself as quickly and as politely as possible from Ren's grasp and backed away, the others pulling away a little more normally. Continuing his subtle stare, Hielberg watched Kyoko and Ren's interactions like a hawk, becoming more and more intrigued as she _unknowingly_ kept her hand in Ren's much longer than was required. It wasn't until he squeezed it gently, _again unknowingly_ Hielberg assumed, that the girl seemed to realise, consequently starting to bow profusely and practically yell apologies at him, most of which involved the words 'work' and 'kohai'. Sweeping his eyes across the rest of the party, Hielberg noticed that only Tina was surprised by this behaviour, with Ren's manager battling a smile, Kanae showing apparent relief and Ren...holding the perfect poker face.

Hielberg raised his hand to his chin. _Interesting...he's so expressive when acting but lacks expression in real life. Why is that?_

His musings were interrupted as a figure brushed past him and walked quickly over to the group. Hielberg found himself surprised not only that the person had dared to walk by without acknowledging him, but by the obvious lack of composure on the young singer's face. The reaction of the group to his appearance was all the more intriguing.

Even when the boy was still a good few metres away, the effect he had on every single one of them was nothing short of electric. Nervousness spread out in waves from the manager and Kanae but from Ren and Kyoko it was..._hostility?_ The only one not changing for the worse was Tina, though why, Hielberg had no idea.

"Oh please no." The pretty woman that Hielberg recognised to be Fuwa Sho's manager muttered the sentence under her breath, but the desperation within it had attracted his attention. Turning slightly to have her in his eye-line as well as the interesting group, he raised his eyebrow questioningly. Shoko paled slightly, but to her credit she managed to recover in a couple of seconds and put up a façade of calm, before she made her necessary way over to the group. Disappointedly, he resigned himself to not getting any knowledge out of her, and instead also made his way over to the group.

_Because I need my assistant, and I need to know what I'm letting myself in for and what's wrong between them so I can avoid conflict within my cast, not because I really want to know what's going on._ He tried to convince himself.

-x-

To save Kyoko from her embarrassment of lingering in Ren's hand a little too long, Tina kindly turned the conversation over to the challenges she could look forward to in her part.

"It's really going to stretch you, you have to be able to show a great deal of emotion at some times and barely any at others - a person who can put up a facade and fool the rest of the cast, but still show just how conflicted and emotional you really are - particularly when Ben is involved," she explained, intent on explaining Cara's role in more depth since Kyoko wouldn't really know all that much about it yet, "Your character, Cara, has to hide her own feelings from everyone - her fear of her past transgressions coming back to haunt her - her love for a boy she feels she has no right to love, her feelings of inadequacy that make her unable to tell him.."

Kyoko listened to the explanation and felt a slight jolt at the last point - Tina continued regardless.

"As for your qualifications as an actor...we're of course going to need you to progress with your singing and look semi-competent with a guitar, but that shouldn't be much of a problem if we get you a teacher, and it's not like you have to reach a professional level or anything..."

Tina looked over at Kyoko and knew within an instant that her plan had succeeded - the girl had a fire in her eyes, a clear sign that she was excited and ready to create another character and develop a new aspect of Mogami Kyoko.

"I'll try my best. I would like to be able to emulate Tsuruga-san and be able to play all my songs to the level Cara would manage." Kyoko enthused, then blushing as she remembered Ren presence.

-x-

Her blush was the final straw.

"I'll teach Kyoko." Sho said loudly, possessively.

Everyone turned to stare at him. Tina, Kanae, and Yashiro were shocked; Kyoko was shocked for a millisecond but then her face darkened with anger at her imaginations how tormenting tutoring from the boy who considered her to be a nothing and his maid would be; while Ren barely restrained himself from yelling a refusal by plastering his most charming, gentlemanly smile across his face. Kyoko shivered violently upon seeing this, and when Yashiro too turned around to see Ren's reaction, he paled considerably.

"How generous Fuwa-kun, but surely you'll be too busy to teach Mogami-san. She will need long intensive sessions that couldn't possibly fit into your timetable, especially as you have to compose so much music to a standard Director Hielberg will accept. Anyway, it would be better for Mogami-san to receive lessons from people from the agency where she spends most of her time, and the people she has a great rapport with." Ren replied, before anyone else could get a word in. Once he'd finished he made his smile even brighter.

Kyoko was shivering so much that you could have put a glass of milk in her hands and it would have turned into milkshake. Her grudges meanwhile, were paying homage to the Demon King's anger and death-like aura he projected. Luckily, before Ren's smile could get any brighter or more sparkly, Shoko and Tina stepped in.

"You couldn't possibly teach Kyoko-chan with your schedule, Sho." Shoko said forcibly, before adding in an undertone that only Sho could hear, "Drop it Sho, what on earth are you thinking?"

Ruffled at Shoko's statement, especially after all the encouragement she'd given him to go and confess to Kyoko, Sho opened his mouth to retort back but he was interrupted by Tina.

"Naturally you'd be too busy Shotaro-kun, but it's very kind of you to offer. And...I do agree with Tsuruga-kun that it would make more sense for Kyoko to be taught by someone else." Tina said, kindly but with the use of his real name to make it clear that there was no argument to be had. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect.

Angry at the glee evident in the others' faces at his embarrassing name, Sho became petulant and began arguing like a child.

"Why does it make sense for someone else to teach her the songs when I'll know them the best and have composed them myself on a guitar? I'll know better than anyone else how they should sound, what progressions should be used...everything. It would be stupid to let anyone else teach her."

"She needs to learn how to play first, and if you've got time to waste on that then you obviously aren't taking your part in this film seriously enough. In which case I'll fire you." Hielberg chipped in this time, settling the argument and successfully halting Sho's immaturity in no time at all.

"Someone at LME can teach Kyoko the basics of playing and a few songs, and then, only then, when **I** say you're both ready, will you teach her the rest. But I expect both of you to behave professionally when that time comes, not act like children - demanding what you want, or hiding behind your elders in the hope that they'll do everything for you. After all, you'll be on screen as band mates so you must be able to portray believable camaraderie." He insulted and threatened clearly.

Hielberg saw them both bristle as his remarks hit home, and, to his delight, he saw the response he wanted from Kyoko. The girl straightened her back and returned his gaze, determined with the fire of a true professional. Sho however took much longer and appeared less enthusiastic, but once he'd been granted his main objective he was content enough, and returned to projecting an unconcerned look in the hopes of rebuilding his image. Out of the corner of his eye Hielberg noticed Ren stiffen slightly, and years of experience in knowing how his cast and crew really felt - having dealt with some of the most complex people in the business and many serious method actors - told him that Ren was unhappy with the situation. _Don't tell me he likes his co-star. Great. More drama. This always makes filming more annoying, I don't want to have to deal with temperamental or jealous actors._ He decided to let the young man know what he thought - cryptically naturally.

"I hope you aren't going to make as much of a fuss about who teaches you to drum or cook, as you did about who teaches Kyoko guitar, Ren?" He asked, with no respect for the _damned nuisance of an honorifics system that means a simple role call takes fifty times longer_. Surprisingly, Ren smiled at this warning.

"Of course Director Hielberg, I will be taught the drums by whoever you deem most suitable. However as I will be required to cook authentic Japanese dishes I already have someone in mind if you don't mind. They've been trained at restaurant standard and have fed many famous members of our business," he replied.

Not really concerned about who taught the boy, Hielberg decided to let him have his way, but made a big deal out of it and answered him with a common warning.

"Lory will no doubt have some musician who can teach you that I'm satisfied with as for your chef they sound adequate...however, if your skills aren't up to standard by the time we start filming I'll shackle you to a kitchen station until you are, and make sure the chef can never cook again."

Tina didn't roll her eyes at her boss' statement, but she did smile encouragingly at Ren for a moment. Hielberg made a quick gesture and she nodded her head in understanding, circling the crowd to meet with him. After a few brief words the two took their leave, and all eyes of those left behind rose to follow them down the corridor.

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>Firstly ARIGAOR I love you all. I can't tell you how happy I am to have over 100 reviews for my story so far. You are all amazing. So *cough* please review so I can reach 200 reviews *Ren's puppy dog face*<br>I hope this chapter isn't too boring it should really be with the previous one but I felt it would just be too long.  
>For those who are on the kill or at least seriously maim Sho wagon he will not be appearing in the next few chapters so unfortunately he won't be getting his comeuppance for a while but it will be long and drawn out to make up for it.<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Kyoko set her fingers into position and strummed her plectrum smoothly along the strings, the sound of a G major reverberating around her. She moved into the next position-A-and began her chord progression exercise in the kitchen of the Darumara-ya, trying not to disturb Tashio and Okami-san too much while they prepared for the evening crowd. They had turned down her earlier offer of help and insisted that she do her homework and guitar practice before Ren arrived, so, after a lot of thanks, she finished her English essay, (which she completed with ease thanks to her recent exposure to Tina and Director Hielberg) revised her history notes, and started her guitar practice.

Although she had only been learning for a bit over a week now, the initial sting of the strings on her fingers was starting to die down, and the select chords she'd been taught seemed to be sticking. Surprised that she was almost competent at her exercises, Kyoko strummed a D and let her mind wander as to why she was about to go through what she was later that night.

_ Shoko managed to drag Sho away soon after Tina and Hielberg exited, but not after he made some derogatory remarks to Kyoko in his childish attempt to reinforce the importance of his presence in her heart. In order not to send her grudges after him, and to stop Ren looking at her with concern, she enquired about who he'd been referring to earlier._

"_Who's this chef that's going to teach you, Tsuruga-san? They sound very impressive." _

_Ren had answered cryptically._

"_Well it depends if she's willing to teach me, after all she is a great chef. She's cooked personally for Hizuri Kuu, created dishes that have been eaten by all of the Dark Moon cast, President Lory, and lots of other important people. Everyone present has eaten something she's created and she has a permanent place at a Tokyo restaurant." _

_Kyoko gazed at him in confusion, her brow furrowed. She couldn't for the life of her think of who this elusive chef was, and yet she'd apparently eaten her food and Kanae, Yashiro, Ren, Otou-san and the cast of Dark Moon had too. She started to think deeper and her furrowed brow almost reached her nose. At this point, Ren couldn't control himself anymore and burst into laughter._

_ Feeling immediately teased, Kyoko turned slightly Mio-esque and snapped at him._

"_It's not my fault I'm such a lowly newbie that I don't know who this amazing chef is. It's cruel to laugh at someone's ignorance Tsuruga-san." _

_Ren immediately stopped laughing at her pouting face as she muttered about his cruelness under her breath. _

"_Gomennasai Mogami-san, I didn't mean to laugh at you. But...it wasn't because you're ignorant or a lowly newbie." _

_He most certainly wouldn't be able to forgive himself if he left her feeling that way for too long - inadequate and foolish - particularly as he was well aware of how her mother used to treat her that way._

"_I laughed because I thought it was obvious who I was talking about...but, as it wasn't, I'll go about it a different way. Mogami-san, will you teach me how to cook?"_

Of course, she'd argued that she couldn't possibly teach him and that she wasn't as good as he'd said, but everyone had soon talked her into accepting that she was a great cook (well, for that moment, but as soon as she'd been alone she had berated herself for being so proud of her little skill - though she did accept that it was much better than Ren's Maui Omu crafting ability). Regardless of the fact that she knew he couldn't get any worse, Kyoko still felt hesitant to teach Ren, firstly, because she felt it would be presumptuous for a lowly kohai like herself to teach **the** Tsuruga Ren, and secondly, she still didn't feel completely confident about being able to act naturally around him and not take stupid hope for his kindness. She didn't want to make mountains out of mole hills like she had with Sho's actions. Unfortunately…

"_You won't help me?" _

_With this question Ren's face became dejected, and his sad, puppy dog eyes appeared. Kyoko had frozen with guilt; he'd only done it once - that wasn't a cause for caving in..._

"_I may be able to cook but I'm not good at teaching." She said in a quavering tone, trying to escape the look before…the number of puppy dog eye looks increased to two and Ren stepped forward so she couldn't look at anyone else. _

_Yashiro and Kanae looked on with amazement, they had never seen Ren look so pathetic, and in such an incredibly cute fashion. Yashiro wished he could take a photo but he doubted Kyoko could last long enough for him to put a glove on and get his cell phone out. Kanae was floored by the lengths Ren would go to in order to have more time with Kyoko. She remembered her friend mentioning something incomprehensible about puppies when she'd been revealing the bits about their time together as siblings, she hadn't understood it then but now...now she knew. Glancing over she could see just how weak Kyoko was to it, and knew that only her belief about her inadequacy as a chef was keeping her from giving in._

_Annoyed and eager to save Kyoko from puppy dog eyes level 3, Kanae spoke up, wanting her friend to accept not because of Ren's influence, but because she felt confident in her own skills._

Having accepted Ren's request and being incredibly determined to do a good job for her respected senpai, Kyoko had been sure to ask Tashio questions the minute she'd gotten back. He'd answered readily and proved the point that he was always willing to help the girl he considered his daughter, be it in cooking or in life itself. He had asked her why she wanted to know certain things and she'd explained about the teaching session - how it was important for the film and how she didn't want to let anyone down. Needless to say, this raised yet more questions, just not ones Kyoko deemed to be all that related.

"_Tsuruga-kun's that boy who sometimes gives you a lift in that sports car, isn't he?" He asked, immediately suspicious of the man who had wanted his little Kyoko to teach him how to cook rather than the hundreds of professionals he could've had - especially as Kyoko had mumbled something about 'not having a choice when faced with __**that**__'._

"_Yes, he's been very kind." Kyoko replied, subconsciously smiling at all those little occasions that he had been so kind to her. Concerned, Tashio continued his questioning._

"_He's one of the men on your wall, isn't he?" He didn't add - the one whose picture hasn't been damaged by various sharp instruments. "And one of the men you model those dolls on?" Again he didn't add – the one you made into a half-life-size version which seemed to be extremely accurate. But he did think those things, and it wasn't casting Ren into a particularly good light in his mind._

_Kyoko, who wasn't aware that Tashio knew about the dolls, was a little embarrassed when she replied._

"_Yes he is."_

"_Where are you planning to have these lessons?" He asked, wanting to move the conversation somewhere safer. _

_Having not really considered the logistics yet, Kyoko replied almost automatically._

"_I don't know; his apartment I suppose."_

"_NO." Tashio commanded, firmly. _

_Kyoko jumped with surprise, immediately concerned that she had done something to affront him. _

_The anger and distress in is voice was foreign to her, and she got the feeling that she'd apologise for whatever it was - and maybe even for Global Warming and oil cost while she was at it - even if she had no idea why. Just as she opened her mouth to reply, Okami appeared out of nowhere and placed a soothing hand on her over-protective husband's shoulder. Kyoko gave them a curious look and the woman immediately conjured an excuse that wouldn't thoroughly embarrass Tashio._

"_Kyoko-chan, why don't you teach Tsuruga-kun here in our kitchen? If he's supposed to learn skills at restaurant level then it would be better if he was taught in a restaurant kitchen rather than a domestic one." Okami suggested. Kyoko's eyes brightened._

"_That's incredible, of course, I didn't think of that but you're absolutely right. If you are willing, I would be most grateful. I'll go phone Tsuruga-san now. Arigatou." Kyoko bowed gracefully before running upstairs to phone Ren and make the suggestion. He didn't sound extremely enthusiastic about the idea, but agreed that it was sensible. _

_Meanwhile, downstairs Okami was quietly chuckling at Kyoko's energy and Tashio was staring at his wife thinking she was the most amazing woman he'd ever met all over again, like the day he first realised he loved her. He gave her hand a squeeze of thanks, and she gave him a smile in return._

"_Now try to behave when her young man comes around. No frightening him off." Okami warned. Tashio gave a non-committal grunt._

A knock on the back door signalled his arrival. Due to Ren's popularity, both he and Kyoko had agreed that it would be best for him not to come in through the front door - there would be too many customers and fans that would recognise him - and so now he was standing on the back street, waiting to be let in.

Kyoko began to prop her guitar up inside a storage cupboard so that she could answer the door when suddenly she felt a strong wave of…_anger? No, that's not it._ Turning around she saw dark sinister waves rolling off Tashio and her grudges immediately flew over to bask in the dark light. Kyoko froze confused analysing the aura, it wasn't angry but it was most definitely hostile, she couldn't understand it. _He seems a bit possessive but like he's trying to protect something. _Tashio made his way to answer the door his face even more stern and forbidding than usual, in the corner Okami shook her head lightly. Bewildered by the odd atmosphere it took a moment for Kyoko to realise that Ren would be greeted by Tashio who when the knock had sounded he'd been cutting up a joint of meat with the biggest knife in his arsenal which he didn't feel it necessary to put down or remove his meat stained apron, before greeting their guest.

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>Sorry it's such a short one but Ren's build up to this cooking lesson seems to be becoming ridiculously long. Hope you still enjoyed it anyway, I'm afraid the next few chapters are going to be filled with Kyoko's obliviousness because its more fun that way (aka Ren's going to be enduring a lot of torment, being greeted by a ridiculously big knife is just the beginning)<br>Arigato again for all your reviews they are my motivation, so if you want to read about Ren's reaction to Taisho in protective dad mode then PLEASE review. I know its evil using the next chapter as a hostage for reviews but I just love them that much


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

When Kyoko told him about Okami's extremely kind offer to use their kitchen Ren had felt disappointed, he'd been looking forward to the idea of her being in his apartment again - the place always had a much homier feel to it when she was in it. However after a few days consideration he'd gradually accepted that it was probably a good idea if other people were present in the lessons - it would be much easier to maintain Tsuruga Ren and restrain Kuon After all, it was in his very kitchen that the other side of him had first taken hold..._I couldn't help but hold her tightly that time..._

Unfortunately, as he hadn't been able to go to the restaurant at any old time, his first lesson wasn't until two weeks after he'd convinced her to teach him. Kyoko had apologised for this and he'd told her it was fine. But there was a complication with waiting it gave him too much time to think about what might happen and now he was…nervous. Not just nervous but pathetically nervous. He'd met the couple she was staying with technically at the Grateful party, but he hadn't particularly talked to them at the time, so all he knew was that they looked after Kyoko as a daughter, even though she biologically wasn't. As a result, he desperately wanted their approval - knowing that if they didn't like him, Kyoko would assume it was her fault for no good reason and he wouldn't be able to spend time with her as freely as he wished.

Ren had never had this problem before - he'd rarely ever met his girlfriend's parents, and when he had they'd been so in awe of him because he was the son of Kuu and Julie Hizuri or the Tsuruga Ren. With them his problem had only ever been his embarrassment at their adoration and the way they placed him on a pedestal. He'd never felt the nerves...but then...he'd never really been serious before. _Well, I thought I had been but the President was right, this is the first time I've truly been in love. She's been my first for so many things, my first real love, my first rejection - because she's the only girl I've liked that doesn't think I'm perfect, the first girl to give me true belief in my abilities…_The list could go on and on and this week alone there were two new additions, 'first time meeting the parents' and another…

His nerves about the lesson had eventually been picked up by Yashiro and he'd passed it on, indirectly, to the President who had summoned him to his office. Dressed as one of the three musketeers he had pointed his sword at Ren and demanded:

"What's wrong?"

Of course, there had been no way in a million years that Ren was going to tell the very man who'd take the most enjoyment out of his love angst than anyone else of his nerves and embarrassment, especially as he probably had a damn good idea of what the problem was. So he'd lied and said nothing. His suspicions were confirmed when he was brutally attacked by the supposed Harbinger of Love for his weakness. After making Ren again wonder if he had been stalked by Lory, the president came down to business.

"Being nervous is a good thing and they will respect your fear because they will know from it that you are serious; of course it would be better for all concerned if you just told her you loved her."

Was Lory's counselling - with a final piece of teasing thrown in for good measure. Sensing that the president was done playing with his emotions, Ren stood up to leave.

But Lory hadn't finished.

"After all...Hizuri Kuu was kicked out of his future parents in law's house six times before he was accepted as Julie's boyfriend."

Ren had then spent the rest of the day thinking, when he could, about Lory's parting statement. He had heard that it had taken his father a lot of effort to be accepted by his mother's parents, but he'd never heard the details. In reality, it seemed impossible that anyone could have disapproved of his parents being together – they really were too perfect for each other. Now, alongside with his own nerves came the pull for his family, a pull that had been growing stronger ever since he'd sent the video home. Eventually he knew he'd do something stupid if he wasn't careful. At midnight the evening before he was due to have his lesson, he picked up his phone and dialled the number engraved on his heart that had never been called on that phone before.

-x-

5 o'clock in the morning in LA, Julie was in the kitchen making herself and her husband a cup of coffee, they both had a long stressful day ahead of them and neither of them where particularly looking forward to it, but they were professionals. The phone rang and she saw it was an international number, this wasn't uncommon but she gave it a small gasp when she saw that it was the code for Japan. She knew that it wasn't Lory - his number was already saved under 'kidnapper' - so it had to be someone else. Julie forced herself not to foolishly hope - it was most likely a Japanese company wanting Kuu to do an advertising job or something (if it was she'd give them a piece of her mind about being aware of time difference) - the chances of it being her baby boy were small to none. She put it on speaker phone and with her professional manner answered:

"Julie Swann speaking, hello."

There was silence on the other end for a moment, and she was about to repeat herself in Japanese instead of English when the other person spoke, in a voice of restrained emotion.

"Hi Mom."

Desperately trying not to cry, but determined to confirm that she wasn't dreaming, she asked in a hoarse whisper:

"Kuon?"

"Yeah Mom…Er…are you ok?" Kuon asked and Julie could picture his embarrassed face; much more handsome than it used to be but still adorable as his smile tilted to the side a bit.

"Of course I'm not ok. I'm going to die in 18 minutes and 29 seconds if you don't tell me everything you've been doing these last seven years." She answered in her shock and joy at her son's voice. Her declaration drew Kuu out of the living room where he had been eating his second helping of breakfast once he realised who she was talking to his empty plate fell to the floor with a clatter.

"I...don't know where to start Mom, there's quite a lot."

"Are you alright?" Kuu demanded, his concern evident in his voice for the reason that his fabulous, incredible, amazing, special, brilliant…(insert positive adjectives you feel appropriate for this oya-baka to use) son would have for calling them - especially since Lory had made it clear that it would probably be at least another year before Ren might feel comfortable with the idea of the world knowing who he truly was.

There was a pause on the other end, followed by an uncertain throat clearing cough.

"I wanted your advice about something."

Julie and Kuu exchanged a mixed look of pure joy that their son wanted their help, and of fear knowing that something was wrong. But they let their baby take his time.

It was at this point Kuon realised that he didn't actually know what he wanted to know from his parents, well other than 'How do you meet the pseudo parents of the girl you love, who incidentally doesn't know you love her and doesn't believe in love, and not have them not hate you and leave so good an impression that, when you eventually do have the guts to ask the love of your life out, they approve of you?' which took forever to say, let alone explain. The fact that his mother had answered in businesswoman mode meant that they probably had work that morning, and he didn't want to cause them any problems...but he needed them. He could lie to them and simplify it, but he didn't want to insult his parents like that, not the first time he made the effort to talk to them. No. He would tell them the truth, and just hope to be quick.

"I'm meeting this girl's parent figures tomorrow and I don't want them to hate me." He started off strong and with conviction, but his insecurities meant that it ended pathetically.

Immediately wanting to cheer up their son, Kuu went full force into Oya-baka mode, making both Kuon and Julie smile, but other than helping his bruised ego, it didn't really address the issue. So Julie stepped in.

"Kuon, honey I doubt you have anything to worry about. You're a great boy - as your father has spent the last five minutes telling you. Anyway, I'm sure if this girl wants you to meet her parents then she likes you an awful lot and will make sure they're polite for you. All you have to do is be yourself and they'll respect that."

Satisfied she'd done her motherly duty of making her son feel more confident, she then launched on her second motherly duty, knowing everything she possibly could about her son's love life.

"So tell me all about her, what's her name, what does she look like, what colours suit her, what are her sizes so I can send her something incredible to wear, what does she do, where did you meet her, how long have you been dating?"

There was a pause as Kuon took in all his mother's questions and prepared himself for her disappointment.

"The thing is...we aren't dating, she doesn't even know my feelings for her - she's kind of oblivious to that kind of stuff. The only reason I'm going to where she lives and am meeting her pseudo parents is because she'd giving me cooking lessons in their kitchen for a film I'm in."

The pity for their son and outrage that someone could not want to date their perfect child; was so oppressive Kuon could feel it through the phone. He didn't know what to do. He'd half expected them to already know about Kyoko through the Boss, but evidently that wasn't the case. He didn't want to explain the pathetic position he was in, but it looked like he'd have to.

"I really like her, I mean...I like her like her, I've never felt like this about any other girl before." Kuon stumbled with his speech, unable to speak in anything other than overused clichés from the third rate dramas and plays he'd scoffed at as the only child of an acting genius.

"This bas…" remembering that it was his parents he was talking to he quickly changed his original speech, "This guy broke her heart after she'd basically been his slave for a year, so that he could achieve his dream and not give her a second thought. She was already troubled by the fact her mom abandoned her as a kid, so now - because of them - she now believes that she'll never fall in love again, and is oblivious to any attempt any guy makes on her. To her I'm just her senior and...no matter what I seem to do she doesn't even see me as a guy. But I want to be a guy to her and **the** guy. I convinced her to teach me to cook in the hope that if she was the senior she might see us as equals and stuff. But know it's going to happen at the restaurant where she lives under the eye of the couple who see her as the daughter they never had. And I don't know how to act around them or her..."

It had been a long time since Kuon had burdened them with any of his problems and the need to have him by their side so they could give him a hug and/or flick his forehead was such an overpowering but impossible urge that it took the Hizuri couple a moment to compose themselves. With their arms wrapped around each other in the hug they couldn't give their baby boy they gave each other the strength to go on.

"Don't act around them, be real, be you. That's all the advice we can give you honey. Just go in there with the knowledge that you love her and things will just fall into place. That's what you've got to believe and then it will come true." Julie said softly, her voice like a caress on the cheek.

"You're mom's right Kuon. The first time I met your mom's parents' I tried to be everything they wanted for their daughter rather than myself. I was so fake, trying to be their idea of Mr Perfect, and although I played the part perfectly they couldn't take to me as your mom's boyfriend. It took so long to get rid of their misconception of me. I'm not saying go in there with your lack of appetite and western attitude to familiarity, be polite and if you can arrive with a gift of thanks and I'm sure they won't object to you. Other than that...be our son and you'll do great." Kuu interjected serious without a hint of Oya-baka in his voice.

"Thanks mom, thanks dad. I'll do my best." Kuon replied sounding slightly more confident.

"No problem Kuon." Kuu answered heartily, glad to be saying his son's name once more, but feeling sad as he felt the conversation was coming to an end and he didn't know when he might call again. Julie was chewing her lip, and he knew she was wondering the same thing, the joy of helping their son and the fear it may be ages before he called them again made this moment so bittersweet.

On the other end of the phone Ren also felt the joy and pain of the moment - he wanted to talk to them for even longer, but they'd already spoken for so long, and he couldn't make them late for work. He also couldn't risk the line, "I'll speak to you soon," because he wasn't sure if he could keep that promise. There was still too much at risk, by continually contacting his parents he'd be dealing with yet another aspect of Kuon, and he still didn't have complete confidence of his control over the darker elements this brought with it - his time as BJ still hung over him like the tendrils of a bad dream. Even with everything Kyoko's presence had done for him he was still afraid, especially with Tina around. He wanted to make things right by everyone but he didn't know how, and he couldn't let all his work as 'Tsuruga Ren' go down the sink because Tina told the world who he was before he was ready. He knew he had to end this conversation now and break their ties again until he was his father's equal.

Back in LA, Julie couldn't bear the thought of not being able to speak to Kuon again for an indeterminate amount of time without trying to reason otherwise. She'd never had the opportunity to see her son before he left for Japan, never had the chance to say goodbye, wish him luck or tell him how much she loved him. She'd simply come home to a quiet house knowing as soon as she crossed the threshold that something wasn't right. She'd gone into the dark living to find Kuu sat hunched forward on the sofa, his arms resting on his knees, his head in her hands. She'd turned on the lights and he'd looked up at her and immediately began to cry, hoarsely saying over and over again, _"He's gone, I'm so sorry, it's my fault. He's gone, I'm so sorry." _ When she'd understood what had happened she'd cried alongside him. But then her misery had twisted into something dark, and for the first and only time in their marriage, she'd hated her husband and didn't care about his guilt, had felt he deserved to feel terrible for letting her baby leave. She'd refused to speak to him for weeks and for a while their marriage had been in jeopardy. Ironically in the end it was their sense of loss and the need for comfort over the disappearance of their son that brought them back together and restored their relationship. Now if they didn't hear from Kuon for months or even years, there would be no blame or anger, but there would be that sense of loss again. The heart-wrenching knowledge that their baby was somewhere they couldn't help or interact with, the fear that the one person they thought they knew so well was becoming a stranger with every day that was passing.

She knew the pain she was putting her darling child through but she had to ask:

"Kuon, baby, can you tell us how it goes?"

"I'm not sure mom I'm still not better than…"

_"Why do you need to be better or worse than him? After all you're not him; you're different from Otou-san. You're yourself and no amount of comparison between the two Katsuki's is going to change that. You're your own person." _

Kyoko words reverberated in his head. He considered for a moment before answering:

"Okay mom...I'll try, but it might be at an inconvenient hour though. Have a good day at work, Mom, Dad."

When the phone disconnected Juli and Kuu embraced each other, the loads in their hearts ever so slightly lighter and more hopeful. The long day ahead of them that had been filling them with dread earlier now seemed blissful despite being even closer. They rushed around to prepare then parted for their work with a kiss. As she got into her car Juli pulled out her mobile and put it on speakerphone and dialled a number she hadn't touched for years.

"Hello?" An old familiar voice answered, slightly irritated at his 'Ai No Oo Arashi re-run midnight marathon' being interrupted.

"All right Lory who on earth is this girl my boy's in love with?"

-x-

Ren pulled up outside the Darumara-ya half an hour early. Yashiro had helped him pick out the best thank you gifts for the couple without any of the embarrassing comments he'd been expecting, he'd even been wished luck without any double edged words or gleeful fan girl expressions. Ren had almost missed them; it would have made him feel a lot less nervous. He spent 20 minutes in the car trying to compose himself and stop imagining all the things that could go wrong with Kyoko or the couple. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore, and the idiom 'you can't capture the tiger cub without entering the tiger's den', gave him purpose and he got out of the car, picked up the gifts, walked up to the door and knocking on it sharply. Almost straight away he'd heard movement, and he'd instantly composed a smile of greeting, hoping that it would be Kyoko he encountered first.

He was wrong.

The door swung open to reveal a large man with the biggest f**king knife he'd ever seen, and a look in his eye that practically screamed that he knew how to use it.

'_Just go in there with the knowledge that you love her and things will just fall into place. That's what you've got to believe and then it will come true.'_

_How in hell is being threatened with a knife as soon as I knock on the door 'things falling into place'!_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x**  
><strong>Well that was long and quite angsty- sorry about that. I just wanted for Kuon/Ren to get over himself and actually try and have a relationship with his parents, also it meant I could torment him a bit more. (Seriously need to stop before I become Lory - I don't have enough wardrobe space)  
>Anyway so next chapter Ren will actually cross the Darmara-ya threshold and unless I get sidetracked (which is a distinct possibility) have his cooking lesson, warning it may get a bit cliche shoujo manga.<br>Arigator as per usual for the reviews reading them makes my day so PLEASE continue to review, you will earn my undying gratitude. Any critical feedback is always welcomed I want this to be as good as possible - even if the criticism is for me to shorten my author notes ;)


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Sachiko, Okami-san of the Daruma-ya was a professional, she worked hard and their restaurant's success was as much to do with her courteous behaviour as her husband's cooking ability. A true Okami never embarrasses a guest by collapsing to the floor in a fit of uncontrollable laughter at the priceless look of possibly trouser wetting fear on the customer's face, even if the face belonged to Japan's sexiest man and had most likely never seen by the general public before. Not without effort and gratitude for years of experience did she quell the desire to laugh heartily at Tsuruga Ren's face, and walk over to the door to save the young man from her overprotective husband's wrath.

"Good evening Tsuruga-kun. I hope you are well." She greeted with a small bow. Her action successfully distracted Ren enough to put his brain back into gear, just about stopping him from running in terror at the mere sight of her imposing husband and his very large knife. With a deep formal bow he returned her greeting.

"Good evening Okami-san, I am well thank you very much. I hope the same can be said of yourselves? Thank you for letting me use your kitchen for my lesson. I hope I'm not intruding too much on your hospitality."

The respect and diffidence shown to the pair of them impressed Taisho greatly - but that didn't mean he approved of the boy. It merely meant that the boy would be allowed on his premises; whether he'd actually be allowed to go anywhere near his kitchen counter or his pseudo daughter was a different matter entirely. He turned slightly to allow Ren to pass as Okami welcomed him in, but he maintained a strong grip on his knife.

-x-

Remembering every tiny scrap of etiquette he'd ever learnt - Japanese and American - Ren offered the two a few, small gifts of thanks before verbalising his gratitude once more. Looking wildly around the room, Ren finally caught sight of the person who made all this fear worthwhile. She was frozen at the other end of the kitchen, a look of surprise and concern plastered so obviously for all the world to see on her adorable face. It was enough to relax him ever so slightly, the amusement he took from her expression and her cuteness cut through the fear and concern that was building up inside him. _She's here and I'll battle anything to remain by her side._

Almost as soon as he thought this, his resolve was immediately questioned by Taisho's gruff voice stating:

"You can't work in _them_." Confused, Ren turned around to see Taisho glaring at his clothes.

"Taisho is right." Kyoko agreed, earning a small smile from Taisho who, with the knife akin to a small axe still held threateningly, went back to the kitchen counter and the meat he was preparing. "You can't cook in those designer clothes, they'll be ruined." Kyoko explained, scrutinising his appearance. On any other occasion Ren would have been pleased by the attention she was paying him, he'd spent longer than usual on his appearance this morning in preparation for the lesson this evening, but as it wasn't being rewarded in the manner he'd hoped, he looked bashful. _Well, what did you expect? That because you were wearing something that the interviewers only this afternoon thought perfectly epitomised your appearance as Japan's most attractive man, that she'd be impressed? This is Kyoko._

"Gomen Mogami-san, I came straight from work - I didn't have time to change." He watched her expressive face show everything - disappointment, understanding, closely followed by acceptance…_so far so good…_but then confusion, deep thought, and - _uh oh - _realisation, annoyance and false innocent curiosity.

"You came here straight from work Tsuruga-san..? So… did you eat dinner at work?" She asked sweetly as if asking after the weather. This failed to fool Ren, he knew where this conversation was heading and he was damned if his lack of appetite was going to be showcase in front of the very people he was trying to gain recognition of, especially as they owned a restaurant. _Lie Kuon! Lie with every inch of acting ability you have._

"Yes Mogami-san, I ate at work - shortly after my interview in fact." He replied, courteously adding his gentlemanly smile for good effect. He saw her face become even more suspicious. _Damn, why is it so hard to lie to this girl about eating, yet she still believes Corn is a fairy prince?_

"You ate dinner at work, after an interview? Most talk shows don't offer food _after_ an interview." Kyoko persisted with the determination that drove her through every hard task she'd ever had to perform, whether it was creating a whole new concept for an audition, work in a drama that people felt she wasn't qualified to perform in, or the herculean task of getting an extremely stubborn actor to eat the proper amount for his body size, it never failed her.

"Yes Mogami-san…they usually wouldn't." Was all Ren could offer as a response, carefully dodging the traps she was laying for him.

"So…they gave you a proper meal, not flavoured onigiri or space food or calorie bread?" Kyoko added sceptically.

"I ate a bento Mogami-san."

"A bento for dinner?" She was becoming more and more unconvinced by the minute.

"That's all they had available Mogami-san."

"And you ate all of it?" It hurt how little trust she had in him…of course, it was completely reasonable, but that didn't stop it from bruising his already battered ego.

"Mogami-san, I'm not a child who needs to be told to finish their meal." He tried an offensive, hoping his sempai role might offer him some protection from this onslaught of questions, before realising that it was exactly _that _that he was trying to shed in the first place by coming here.

He distinctly heard Kyoko mutter: 'No, you're not…because children eventually learn their lesson and do as they're told. You "train" your body to survive on mouse size portions of food.' Before continuing her interrogation.

"So you finished your bento before you left work?"

Ren restrained a groan of exasperation. It would have been easier to confess at the beginning but now he'd lied, he didn't have the luxury of such an option. Backing out now would no doubt leave an even worse impression on the Daruma-ya couple than he'd already managed to achieve. He would just have to stick to his guns.

"Yes Mogami-san." This was getting repetitive.

"So…if I called Yashiro-san right now, he'd be able to confirm this?"

"Yashiro had already left when I got the bento." He intervened as quickly as he dared; really not liking the direction this was going. He wouldn't put it past her to actually call Yashiro, and he would no doubt tell her the truth. Kyoko stared him in the eyes hard for a whole minute before letting out a loud, and long "Tsuruga-san!" in a despairing wail. Ren fought the urge to bring his palm to his face as she barrelled into yet another variation of her well intentioned rant about eating properly.

-x-

After being forced to eat and been given an apron to cover his outfit, Ren was ready to go. Kyoko only wished the same could be said for her. All attempts to fortify herself against Ren had disintegrated when he'd smiled at her after he'd entered. Only the usual banter about his eating habits had kept her in a state of normality, although she had taken it even further than usual before calling his bluff. While he ate he'd inquired after her work and somehow managed to convince her to play a bit of guitar for him, which he'd sincerely and deeply praised - _which there is no special meaning to as he's always been generous in his praise - even when its undeserved._ Kyoko had been confused but grateful that during this conversation Taisho and Okami became involved, listening with genuine interest to the stories that Ren told about Kyoko on the set of Dark Moon. Kyoko didn't often talk to the couple about her work for the sole reason that she didn't wish to burden them with her prattle - something she'd learned from Sho's mother as a child. Running with the principle that no one would want to listen to her stories when they were busy working, or even relaxing, she'd always deigned to keep herself to herself, something that – judging by the Daruma-ya couple's interest - she apparently needn't have bothered to do.

Those two couldn't have had a more polar opposite view of her beliefs, but after living with her, they'd been forced to accept Kyoko's rather secretive ways and encourage openness only when she felt she could. This had worked somewhat - she'd never regaled them with stories but she had fought her embarrassment and watched her TV appearances with them. It was because of this that they appreciated Ren's stories all the more, especially the effect they seemed to have on Kyoko. It was heart-warming to see that the girl who barely shared anything feeling comfortable enough to chip in and add a few tales of her own…it was even more amazing to think that it was all possible because _he_ was there. The dark, somewhat menacing aura surrounding Taisho softened as he noticed this, and his wife exchanged a knowing and comforting look with him. Unfortunately for Ren, this change was almost immediately destroyed when Kyoko rolled up her sleeves in a business-like manner and prepared the work surface for cooking, reminding Hibiki that **his **little Kyoko-chan was going to be teaching this upstart young man how to cook in** his** kitchen.

Breathing deeply, Kyoko attempted to gain some control over her rapidly fluttering heart as she glanced over at Ren's 'eager schoolboy' expression, wondering, once again, why she was putting herself through this. She brought the ingredients to the counter and commenced her lesson.

"We're making something quite simple, I thought it would be best to make sure technique is correct before moving on to more complex dishes." Feeling much more nervous than usual, Kyoko placed a block of tofu on the chopping board and demonstrated the proper method to cut it, remembering, all too vividly, the last time she'd seen Ren try something like this. He'd chopped and sliced haphazardly, thrown everything in an unsightly mix and called it cooking. It was _not_ cooking - it was a monster. The memory of that monstrosity of a dish spurred the chef in Kyoko to take over, kindly but purposefully putting Ren in his place to instruct him in the art of creating edible food.

As Ren worked carefully on cutting the long green onions - after successfully cutting the tofu and shirataki - he felt as though he'd gotten a good enough grasp on it to begin a conversation with Kyoko. It was the least he wanted after surviving her demonic attitude as an instructor.

"What's this dish actually called Mogami-san?" he asked as an introduction.

Kyoko blushed, but luckily Ren was too busy trying to correct the mistake he'd made on the leeks to notice. _Stop it, stop blushing, it's just a name of a dish…Just because it contains 'suki' in it doesn't mean anything. You can say the word 'like' without making a big deal of it. Remember, you can't burden him with your feelings…be relaxed about it. _Unfortunately, Kyoko's pick me up chat didn't work this time, and her answer was rather disjointed.

-x-

Ren looked up from the annoyingly low counter as he waited for her reply. Kyoko seemed rather preoccupied - not that he minded. He'd just clocked Taisho going out back to dispose of some rubbish, so he took the opportunity to admire her. The chef's ensemble looked as cute as it had at the Grateful party, and he figured he wouldn't mind seeing it a bit more often. Although he was a bit annoyed with the Spartan-like teaching method that accompanied it, he was seeing the improvement in her attitude already and well…_it's __**her**__ Spartan-like teaching method. Geez…anyone one else and I'd barely tolerate this…why is it that this kind of behaviour from her seems so much more…enjoyable than it should be? _He became aware that Kyoko was speaking - possibly in response to his question-and tuned back in, drowning out his bizarre thoughts in the process.

"Well…it…I…you…I…s-suki…"

The mere surprise of hearing this word - accompanied with the fact they were alone in the room and he was, by all definitions, a disastrous chef - was enough to jolt him, causing his knife to slice through both the leek, and the side of his thumb.

"…yaki. The dish is called…Sukiyaki."

Kyoko beamed proudly, incredibly glad that she'd managed to say its name coherently after messing it up so many times in her head - completely unaware that she'd in fact spoken aloud her mistakes. She looked at Ren and then at the pool of red currently streaming along the chopping board.

"Ahhhhh! Tsuruga-san!" she exclaimed, rushing over to inspect her injured student. She immediately dragged him by his injured hand to the sink and ran water over it, telling him not to move as she dashed to get the first aid kit and find the necessary materials. Returning shortly after, Kyoko forced the unnecessarily tall actor to sit on a stool while she tended his wound tenderly, tears beginning to fill her eyes.

-x-

Ren wasn't sure what he was more embarrassed about – being foolishly hopeful that Kyoko's use of the word 'like' was anything other than completely innocent, or cutting himself. Despite his embarrassment however, he couldn't help but appreciate the feeling of Kyoko's soft hands upon his own. _Maybe I should get injured more often…come to think of it, the last time she was this attentive I'd been in a car crash…_A drop of water hitting his hand brought him out of his reverie. He looked down to where he'd felt the droplet and was surprised when another hit him. He gazed up and felt his something in his chest clench painfully. Kyoko was crying.

"Kyo…Mogami-san…what's wrong?" He asked tenderly, guilt churning his full stomach into an uncomfortable mess.

"It's all my fault…how could I be such a terrible kohai? To injure an actor's body like this...What if Director Hielberg fires you? It's all my fault. Maybe I could get him to fire me instead…" Kyoko half muttered half screamed in guilt and misery, completely unaware of the pain her words were causing the very person she was trying to protect.

"Mogami-san," Ren began in his strongest 'I-am-your-sempai-and must-be-obeyed' voice, "It's my fault, not yours."

Kyoko stopped attending to his wound and gazed up at him. Her mouth opened to protest, but Ren wouldn't give her the chance.

"Did you tell me to cut myself? Was the knife under your control?" Ren asked imperiously. He wouldn't let her take the blame for his mistake, she was too used to being the scapegoat for other people's failings and he refused to become one of them. When he saw Kyoko's hesitant acknowledgements of his questions, he continued in a softer, more heartfelt voice; which projected visions of sparkling light falling around him.

"It was an accident and it will heal easily. It's not your fault. If anything I'm grateful that you're here teaching me to cook and looking after me when I get it wrong. Arigatou."

As he'd spoken the distance between them had shortened and his voice became so quiet and gentle that his "Arigatou" was almost a whisper in Kyoko's ear. Ren took a moment to enjoy the softness of Kyoko's hand on his and couldn't help but imagine that she was acting like this because she cared about him more than a respected sempai, that she held his hand not because she felt responsible, but because she enjoyed the sensation just as much as he did.

-x-

Kyoko stared into Ren eyes, relief coursing through her and taking away most - but not all - of her guilt. _He doesn't blame me, he doesn't hate me._ These thoughts brought her so much joy she didn't even register the closeness between them, or the fact she was staring into his eyes like a lover would before a kiss. Instead she just analytically assessed his eyes, gaining greater detail for her next Ren doll. _His eyes are very dark brown but get lighter closer to the pupil. There's an almost unnoticeable ring around his iris, like I had when I was wearing contacts for Setsu. His eyelashes are…wait …like contacts…Does that mean Ren's vision is poor? Does he have glasses?_ An image of Ren in glasses flashed across her mind and she blushed and giggled at the thought. Of course, she was woefully unaware of how enticing this was to the subject of her thoughts, who was still sat down on the stool in front of her, wishing desperately he could read the thoughts that accompanied her expressions. Ren shifted on his perch desperately trying to avoid doing something he'd regret, his restraint made all the more difficult by the absence of either of Kyoko's pseudo parents in the room.

**BANG! **The back door slammed shut as Taisho returned, his aura turning dark with murderous intent. Ren was torn between relief that he was stopped, and distress that Taisho now had an even greater reason to dislike him. Kyoko, sweet, innocent and naïve Kyoko, finally realised the compromising position she was in, and immediately recoiled in horror.

"G-Gomennasai Tsuruga-san."

Trying to dispel the awkward atmosphere and subtly diffuse Taisho's anger, Ren jokingly asked,

"So…do you think I'll live?" accompanied with one of his true smiles. Kyoko immediately turned away from him and back towards the counter where Ren had been preparing the food, cleaning up while granting her grudges some protection from the divine smile that dehydrated them. She answered him in a business-like mode.

"Of course Tsuruga-san, although you'd do well to eat food with plenty of iron in it and vitamins to ensure proper repair."

Ren just smiled good humouredly as the instruction went in one ear and out the other. He then took his position at the counter once more and attempted to finish off the leeks. He successfully (for him that is, given when it came to cooking he was his mother's son) finished the cutting and was ready for what was to come next, when Okami-san entered the kitchen looking flurried.

"Tsuruga-kun do you mind if I borrow Kyoko-chan for a moment, a large party has just arrived and I could use her help." Before either Kyoko or Ren could reply, Taisho said, in a tone that allowed for no opposition:

"I'll take over Tsuruga-kun's lesson."

Kyoko glanced awkwardly between the two men before emitting a slightly strained "Hai" and slipping off her apron to put her waitressing outfit on to help Okami-san. She gave Ren a final encouraging smile before she left the kitchen. He smiled back gratefully before bracing himself, _Bring on Round two then…_

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>*Throws self down to the floor in a dogeza* GOMENASAI everybody I am really really sorry for not posting for months. I am really going to try an be more frequent in uploading the next chapters but the Skip Beat cast are not working with me and I'm struggling to write the story the way I want it.<br>Thank you so much for all the reviews, although I don't deserve them please keep them coming, with both positive and negative feedback I want this to be good. Thanks :D


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Taisho had two skills he took pride in, the first was his cooking ability, and the second was that he could make a man fearful for his life with just a look - the power of intimidation. Being able to intimidate wasn't something he'd always been proud of, as a child it had caused him much misery when his shyness was misconstrued as suppressed anger. In fact, he'd known that the minute he met a woman who could see through his intimidating façade he'd most definitely love her forever, which he did. But that is another story for another time. However, as he'd gotten older he'd become aware that there were occasions when being able to put the fear of god into someone was quite useful - like when they'd first opened the Daruma-ya and a Yazuka group was trying to con them out of money because they were new to the game, or when his baby sister was being stalked. Yes, there were many occasions when his taciturn nature made men wary of their actions and words, and this occasion was no exception. Facing the boy who was obviously head over heels in love with the…unique young lady he cared for as a daughter, he was glad of his intimidating nature, especially as he was determined to get some straight answers out of him before the night was out. But first of all he had to do something about the boy's appalling cooking ability - he certainly couldn't let Kyoko be involved with someone who couldn't even mince vegetables.

-x-

As Taisho gave him clear and definite instructions about how to recover from the mess of food he'd made, Ren became increasing nervous; knowing that this one-on-one time with Taisho was going to be more horrifying than any interview he'd ever encountered. Silence reigned over the kitchen and Ren finally realised how awkward it must be for others when he established a no talking rule in his car. However, Ren had no confidence to begin a conversation, especially when it was obvious his kitchen skills were considered a strike against him in this man's eyes. He focused on his knife and said nothing.

Ren was shocked when Taisho suddenly grabbed the wrist of his uninjured hand and scrutinised it hard. As a model, Ren thought he was used to being eyed like a piece of meat, but considering what had happened to the last piece of meat Taisho had inspected he was feeling distinctly on edge. This was made worse by the disgusted manner in which Taisho dropped his hand. Ren looked down at the offending hand and tried to comprehend how it could be found so distasteful. While he was distracted, Taisho took the chopping board and knife he'd been using away from him, and replaced them with a large bowl with some form of mixture in it.

"Mix." Taisho ordered, before returning to his own cooking.

Ren nodded and began to beat the mixture, his muscles soon aching with the unaccustomed action.

"You're a fighter." Taisho pronounced in a deep, but quiet voice that travelled across the expanse of the kitchen counter but not through the open bar and into the restaurant.

Ren's head snapped up from his task, his shock causing batter to splat onto his apron. _Why am I so clumsy all of a sudden? _Shaking the irrelevant comment out of his head, he paused to consider his response. Before he could try to formulate an answer Taisho continued.

"One who doesn't care what danger he puts himself into."

It was left unsaid but the air seemed to thicken with Taisho's thoughts.

_You aren't good enough for my Kyoko._

Unsure how to deal with this man and hopefully change his opinion, Ren replied honestly.

_After all honesty is the best policy…right?_

"I'm afraid I don't understand you sir."

-x-

Giving the _boy _his patented death glare, Hibiki replied succinctly, "Knuckles, scars."

_You only get scars like that if you fight hard and with intent to hurt. They're old, but still…to have them shows recklessness._ He watched as the boy put up his defences, it wasn't obvious and probably unconsciously done, but it confirmed what he had already suspected – _the boy has a secret_.

"I've done a variety of action movies which have resulted in me being trained to fight a little. But I am not a recreational fighter, sir."

_Not anymore…_both Taisho and Ren tagged on the end of the declaration. Seeing that Ren wasn't going to be honest without further prompting, Taisho decided to push his suspicions further, choosing to ignore the declaration of innocence.

"You're a reckless fighter, not the kind of person who should be near the pure and innocent."

Kuon couldn't help but agree, he winced as he remembered the danger he'd put Murasame through when the script had provoked him rather than his character BJ. He also remembered the danger Kyoko had faced when he'd gotten into the fight outside of Jeanne d'Arc – any one of those thugs could have injured Kyoko while he was attacking them. His gentlemanly persona desperately tried to find a way of recovering the situation with Taisho, but he found himself overrun by Kuon who held the greater power of his parent's advice. _Don't act around them, be real, be you._

"I'll admit that I was…dangerous when I was younger. But I would never attack anyone who didn't deserve it. The pure and innocent have always had, and always will have, my protection."

At that moment every part of Ren's being was exposed. What Hibiki was witnessing was the soul behind Tsuruga Ren, Hizuri Kuon, and even behind Kyoko's – rather interestingly named - Emperor of the Night. For all intensive purposes, Ren had laid himself bare to allow this man to determine his worth. His tone and face conveyed every insecurity and guilty feeling he'd ever felt over his younger days, and the strength of his honesty was almost overpowering. Later Ren would reflect as to how in those few minutes Taisho had managed to be strip him to his core and make him speak so honestly with no hint of disguise, doubting that he would ever manage to figure it out, even years down the line. However, possibly the most influential factor was that, at the end of the day, Taisho was a simple, straight forward man, that would never be swayed by public opinion or allow himself to be blinded by wealth or power. He had anonymity that Ren hadn't had the opportunity to come into contact with for a long time. In that kitchen he was just a man, not an actor, not the child of LA's power couple. In fact, he felt regarded barely even as a man, just simply another person.

Hibiki's conflicted emotions were unobservable, but raged under a mask that Ren would envy. The acknowledgment of trouble in his youth set Taisho's teeth on edge with concern. However, the honesty could not be discounted, nor could the obvious regret. The promise that the 'pure and innocent', or, to both of their minds, Kyoko, would be protected, made him approve of the man but…_how much can I trust him_? There was no easy answer to this question, and Taisho didn't have the opportunity to ponder for too long as drunken yelling from the opposite end of his restaurant caught both his and Ren's attention. The additional sight of a young man viciously holding Kyoko's arm did nothing to make them refocus on their cooking. Taisho's grip on his knife tightened as he stepped towards the door to the restaurant floor, only stopping as he caught sight of Ren vaulting over the bar counter with a fierce and dangerous look on his face.

-x-

Kyoko was surprised to see the large group entering, or rather, stumbling into the restaurant, but didn't let it register on her face. The group consisted of very…tipsy(she used the term with more kindness than honesty) University of Tokyo students who were celebrating, or commiserating in a few cases, their recent exam results. Normally the students wouldn't have gone to the Daruma-ya, as it was mainly frequented by families or more mature people, but given their lucid state of mind anywhere that sold food and alcohol couldn't be objectionable. Kyoko successfully got them all sat down without disrupting the rest of the restaurant - no mean feat considering alcohol and discretion aren't exactly symbiotic - and patiently waited for the more sober to pretend to peruse the menu before ordering copious amount of alcohol and whatever their drunken food craving was.

"What would you like?" She asked to the most sober respectfully.

Unfortunately she was answered by one of the more drunk customers, a young man, with lanky greasy hair and an unsubtle leer in his intoxicated glance.

"You, in my bed." At this he laughed heartily and some of the group joined in; the rest either ignored him or spared a pitying glance for Kyoko before going back to their own conversations or levels of intoxication. Ignoring him with easy practice and with her best Okami manner she asked

"What would you like to order?"

The drunken student, feeling annoyed at Kyoko's rebuff and having not done particularly well in his exams, wanted a nice impressionable girl to make him feel better started to seduce her very bluntly. After all, in his mind 'you, in my bed' was subtle, and obviously an observant reader can deduce that he wasn't, as a general rule, particularly successful in his conquests, but he felt the adage 'practice makes perfect' would sort him out. Giving the cute orange haired waitress his best smoulder, which merely made him look constipated and was nowhere near the level of the Emperor of the Night, he was less than impressed when she ignored him, _again! _

"So…what time do you get off work, I'll walk you home. Or you could come back to mine."

His eyebrows wiggled as he'd seen in a recent American movie. He got no reply.

"Hey, I'm talking to you. Answer me."…Nothing. Completely ignored.

_How dare she? How dare this bitch!_

"Hey, I'm a customer and I asked a question. Answer me damn it or I'll get you fired."

Despite her usual lack of self-belief, even Kyoko was aware enough to know that she would not be fired because of a drunkard; however, she didn't wish to cause trouble for Okami-san and Taisho. So she increased her posture a bit, which was already impossibly straight, and replied courteously.

"Gomenasai Okayku-san, can I help you?"

"Yeah, you can tell me when you're available to meet me." Chojiro spat out, not bothering to even attempt at flirting now.

Kyoko didn't grimace, but inside her demons were encircling her and aching to damage this man, their desires only held back by Kyoko's wish not to cause a scene.

"Gomenasai Okayku-san, but I can't help with that. I am too busy with my work and…"

"Cut the crap. Like you could be busy, waitressing doesn't require brains or take long. Studying at Tokyo University…now that takes time and brains." Chojiro interrupted with ill grace.

"What a shame you don't have either Hachirobei-kun." One of the sober girls at their table replied haughtily. "I'm sorry about him, he's been a waste of space all day - just ignore him and maybe he'll actually act like something other than a spoilt pain in the neck. Though…I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you."

Chojori lunged at the girl clumsily but with murder in his eyes, and Kyoko got in his way to prevent an all out brawl. Chojori grabbed her wrist and yelled into her face, spit flying in all directions in his venomous state.

"Stay out of this bitch."

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>Gomenasai for not uploading in ages. I'm also going to have to ask for your patience for future chapters as well I'm afraid because I had to restore my laptop to factory settings and being the baka that I am most of my notesinitial chapter ideas for the next few chapters weren't saved anywhere else, so the next lot of chapters may take a while.  
>Arigato so much for all your support whether you review or just read I really appreciate it. If I could I'd give you all giri valentines day chocolate (I know its past Vain day but that's besides the point). So a final thank you very much and a final apology for my very long winded author's note.<p> 


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Everyone has a story about a time when they encountered somebody famous outside of where they're expected to be found; almost as if the thought of revered, household name celebrities doing something as mundane as shopping doesn't seem to compute. Some stories are honest, _I was stuck in a traffic jam and that musician was in the car behind me_; some are lies, _I met that actress at a club and she was totally flirting with me_, and some are completely mistaken, _I met whatshisname from that TV show...Er…that was just a life-size cardboard cut-out. _Interest in the lives of people who are famous has been a phenomenon of the un-famous for thousands of years. Many tales of these gifted, or in some cases extremely lucky, people are re-told again and again, with a little more embellishment each time - an unavoidable fact of life no matter how good the original story is. Little did the customers of the Daruma-ya that night realise that in addition to the excellent food and charming atmosphere, they were about to be witnesses to one of these extraordinary tales - a tale that, in the following weeks, they would tell family, friends, and even their enemies (if only to rub it in their faces that they'd seen the live event). Everyone's version of the tale would be ever so slightly different, but they would all begin with a tall, dark and mysterious man making a dramatic entrance.

-x-

Ren vaulted over the counter of the bar with all of the athletic ability his father was so jealous of, miraculously sparing the dishes and glasses of the two mature businessmen who were eating as he did so. Ignoring their stunned and, strangely, envious faces, he walked smoothly and gracefully yet with the same hunting purpose he had all that time ago with Kyoko. _**My**__ Kyoko!_ Kuon growled possessively in his head as he watched the only two people in the restaurant who weren't gaping at his presence continue to strain back and forth, with Kyoko battling to free herself from Chojiro's grip.

_Get your filthy drunken hands off her you bast..._

**CRASH!**

Chojiro fell to the floor with the weight of all of Kyoko's grudges bearing down on him…and Kyoko followed. Despite being incredibly drunk, Chojiro's grip was a strong vice on Kyoko's wrist; she couldn't help but topple down with him.

"I knew you couldn't resisisist me." Chojiro slurred; a smirk obvious on his face. With his free arm, he ran his hand along Kyoko's back and started travelling his fingers down her spine, his grin getting wider.

Before anyone could register what was happening, Kuon grabbed the _S.O.B's _wanderinghand and twisted it into an unnatural position, causing Chojiro's whole arm to spasm in pain. Kneeling down, Kuon wrapped his spare arm around Kyoko's waist and lifted her free of the viper's grip with a well-placed foot on the edge of her captor's stomach. Once this was accomplished, he released his pressure grip on Chojiro only to move Kyoko away and inspect her for injury. His arm still unconsciously tenderly holding Kyoko's stomach, Kuon bent down and gazed directly at her facial expression, studying it minutely to see how she was feeling.

"Are you alright?" He asked, supposing from her appearance that she was fine - albeit extremely red.

_I wonder how red she'd go if I…NO, focus. Remember what Mom always said – if you want to be the kind of man a woman can depend on then listen to everything she says, especially when troubled._

"Hai, I'm well Tsuruga-san." Kyoko replied shyly, desperate for her heartbeat to return to normal. Murmurs immediately cut through the silence that had pervaded in respect for the fight blooming before their eyes. They'd suspected that the tall man was Tsuruga Ren but to have it confirmed induced speculation as to why he was here, why he was dressed like that and whether it was too dangerous to ask for an autograph. As Chojiro stumbled to his feet, gaze murderous, everyone held their breath and made the decision that it _was_ far too dangerous to ask for an autograph…yet.

Taking advantage of Ren's distraction – namely, his concern for Kyoko - Chojiro staggered up, clutching the side where Ren had kicked him, and desperately tried to think of a way to make his attacker suffer. Seeing the chair he'd abandoned to attack the girl who'd insulted him, he was suddenly inspired by an old action film he'd seen, one where the main guy picked one up and used it to whack the exposed back of the enemy before him, with satisfying results. The chairs of the Daruma-ya were fairly sturdy and a bit too heavy for a man who didn't take any form of regular exercise and was incredibly drunk, so Chojiro failed in his attempt to hold it above his head and bring it crashing down on his assailant - especially given the fact that Ren was several inches taller than him. Regardless of this however, Chojiro was successful in his rousing half yell, half scream, as he flung the seat of the chair into the small of Ren's back.

-x-

When Chojiro had launched himself at the girl who'd insulted him, Kyoko had moved between them to stop him purely on instinct, she didn't like it when other people got hurt because of her, after all. Having her wrist grabbed wasn't particularly bad pain wise, just extremely annoying, especially as despite her struggling she couldn't free herself. Memories of her helplessness in the times that she was attacked by Reino and Sho had immediately came to mind, adding to her sense of frustration more than the pain of Chojiro's nails against her skin. The minute she'd ended up falling on the drunk she'd completely forgotten this however and become flooded with embarrassment, his comment only resulting in her turning impossibly red, sure that her blushes covered her entire body.

As much as it wasn't his intention, in Kyoko's eyes, Ren's intervention made things all the worse. _He must think I'm hopeless…_not to mention her following proximity to the handsome man once she'd been freed. _It's wrong for him to have his arm around my waist, it's not decent! _A little voice argued that that didn't matter as long as he continued to look at her so tenderly. _But this isn't right! _She yelled internally while enjoying being lost in his gaze, and tried to figure out who Ren really was at that moment. Emperor of the Night…Demon King…Cain… Katsuki…BJ…none of them had that kind of or that much emotion. Out of the corner of her eye Kyoko spotted Chojiro advancing with the chair and couldn't believe her eyes - that anyone would be foolishly enough to challenge Ren. Realising that it really was going to happen, Kyoko knew it was too late to warn but tried anyway, calling out as the edge of the chair seat slammed into the small of Ren's back.

"REN!"

Ren was knocked forward with the impact but managed to avoid falling into Kyoko, his back yelling in pain. Whipping around, he grabbed the chair that a foolish Chojiro was still holding - as if in victory over his attack - and used it to drive him back into the wall, pinning him there. Chojiro struggled in an attempt to not to be completely squashed by the force of the chair and Ren's anger, and in his bid for freedom the chair fell to the side of them with a clatter. Moving as fast as a blur, Ren pinned Chojiro to the wall yet again, this time by his neck, and tensed his fingers, squeezing to the degree that made his opponent's knees give way and pass out. Kuon released his grip and watched the man slump to the floor, surveying his handiwork before kneeling down cautiously to double check that the man was unconscious. To his relief, the man's pulse was steady and he was most certainly out for the count. Gathering himself, Kuon spent a moment trying to calm his rapidly beating heart and stem the adrenaline now coursing through his veins, pulling back the visage of Ren for the restaurant patrons. As he stepped back, Chojiro's drinking buddies crowded around, clearly disappointed in not being able to properly see what had happened. Seeing Chojiro incapacitated, some cheered, and the girl Kyoko had protected earlier took a stab at flirting with her knight in shining armour.

"Thank you so much Ren-sama, can I call you Ren-sama? I don't know what might have happened if you hadn't turned up…he was about to come after me next I'm sure. You're so brave and strong and…"

But what else Ren was he didn't bother to listen to and find out, blinding her with his gentlemanly smile _just to get the girl to shut up and let me think for a sec _before turning to address the assembled crowd.

"I think it would be best if we withdrew from the boy and return to our seats, there's no need to let this little incident ruin a lovely evening and our appetites, is there?"

Suddenly realising that it wasn't just the university students listening but the entire restaurant - including a large number of families with children of all different ages - he desperately tried to repair the damage to 'Tsuruga Ren' he'd managed with his angry stunt. _Damn, where's Yashiro when you need him? Oh all the times I could use that interfering busybody and he isn't here. _Bowing deeply to the general populace of the Daruma-ya in apology, he continued his speech while thinking of every piece of public relations guidance he'd ever been given (which, admittedly, wasn't a lot, making him almost regret never being involved in scandalous rumours since he'd arrived in Japan as his skills were now a bit rustier than he liked).

"Gomenasai everybody, I'm sorry I've disturbed you."

Everyone stared, unsure if he was going to continue. _You'd think I'd be used to dozens of people staring at me by now… _Ren sighed internally and prevented it passing his gentlemanly persona, desperately thinking of his next move. He was luckily reprieved for a moment by Sachiko the Okami-san bustling over to shoo the youngsters surrounding their unconscious comrade. This motion seemed to break the spell that hung over the customers as they rapidly began to discuss in hurried whispers what just occurred. Valiantly trying not to let the glass mask of his public persona drop, Ren watched the elderly Okami kneel before the unconscious customer with a damp cloth to revive him just enough to get him out. After all, her husband wasn't as young as he used to be so they couldn't just grab him and chuck him out like he used to in their earlier days. Also, she worried what her husband might do to him after his attack on Kyoko.

Slowly regaining consciousness, Chojiro tried to piece together the reason he was slumped on the floor, all the while gradually noticing the figure in front of him, a female figure. _The girl…I'll make her pay for making that pin up poser attack me._ Taking a moment to compose himself, he lunged forward to attack the woman before him.

-x-

Hibiki had followed Ren directly out of the kitchen, using the door rather than the counter though, like a normal person. Despite himself, he'd been pleased with the way Ren had taken control of the situation. Strangely enough the fact Ren was too occupied with checking on Kyoko to realise the danger in leaving his back to his opponent did improve Hibiki's opinion of him, although he had to admit that the scandalous skinship the boy shared with Kyoko had set his teeth slightly on edge. As a man he couldn't help but be impressed by Ren's use of pressure points, knowing early on that Ren was restraining himself from his higher level of abilities. If it was a street fight out for blood, the drunken baka would have been out cold in the first 10 seconds, but Ren was protecting not only Kyoko but Chojiro and, whether he realised it or not, the reputation of the Daruma-ya. Seeing Chojiro unconscious on the floor with his wife tending to him, Hibiki made his way further into the restaurant so he too could help calm down the customers. Just as he'd taken one step closer to the couple on the floor, he watched in horror as the student brutally shoved his wife backwards, her head undoubtedly heading for the floor. Heads bobbed up in front of him and obscured his sight of the scene, hiding his wife, his love from him. Pushing forward without any consideration of the people who were in his path, images of what he might see flashed through his mind.

None of the scenarios he'd conjured up could prepare him for what he actually saw. Sachiko was safe and leaning back, breathing heavily from shock, in Japan's No 1 Sexist Man's arms. The same man whose right leg was outstretched pressing hard into Chojiro's right shoulder, pinning him to the wall with impressive ease. Relief coursing through his system, Hibiki strode purposefully over to the young man with his arms around **his** wife and escorted her into **his **own arms. (He had no need to be jealous of the boy but kami damn it he wasn't going to let that little pup be the knight in shining armour). Checking Sachiko with intense scrutiny for any additional injury, Hibiki missed Ren's next feat of strength and agility, but managed to catch sight of the boy going through the back exit into the alleyway with Chojiro slumped on his left shoulder.

-x-

Michishige Masaki, a successful family man, had arrived at the Daruma-ya that evening with his wife and his eldest child's family to celebrate his grandson's fourth birthday. It was unusual for them to go out to celebrate a birthday but his daughter had requested it and, as she was the only one of his children to give him a grandchild, he found it impossible to say no. When they'd arrived he'd approved heartily of the restaurant but had become quite concerned when a large party of students had appeared, however, after being distracted by a digital camera and numerous requests to take photographs from his son in law, he soon forgot about them. Having always struggled with technology - especially as he got older and it became more advanced - _Who's bright idea was it to make them so incredibly small that you can barely distinguish one button from another? _He failed to realise he was recording rather than taking a photo until his grandson started to tell him off for being silly. His daughter teased him "Mou, it's so easy Otou-san, even a four year old child can do it."

"Then let the four year old child do it then." He grumbled, turning away from the table so he could fiddle with the blasted contraption in brighter light. He paused at the sight before him, the camera still held up with its little red light shining. Like everyone else in the restaurant he became caught up with the drama that took place, the shock so great that he didn't move a muscle, despite his arms beginning to strain with lactic acid build up. The little machine caught everything, from Chojiro and Kyoko's alteration to Ren lifting the drunk onto his shoulder in a fireman's lift and bowing to everybody, while still holding the boy, before walking out. Only when Taisho glared at the general populace did everyone, including Masaki, sit back down. The entire table, including the usually boisterous four year old, took a moment to compose themselves. With the camera still whirring, Masaki returned the device to his son in law.

Taking it the young man realised what his father in law had inadvertently managed. Stopping the recording he took a moment to replay the entire scene they'd just experienced. His attention was then taken by his darling child and wife so they continued their meal with little fuss and left within the hour. The journey home was as painless as any journey in such a crowded city as Tokyo can be, and they were home soon enough. As his wife put their little one to bed, Kamirin called his old friend who worked at TXN News. By the time his wife had calmed down their little one and gotten ready for bed, he had emailed the recording and received the promise of 100,000 Yen when the transaction was over. For a moment as he cleaned his teeth Kamirin had a twinge of guilt for so easily selling the recording. Being the type of person who wasn't interested in tabloid fodder, he knew he wouldn't like it if someone sold a recording of him protecting someone for the whole of Japan to see, and yet, for some reason he'd done exactly that, albeit a celebrity rather than himself. Regardless of these feelings, by the time he got into bed next to his wife he'd easily wiped away any sense of guilt, admitting that the money was good and he would be lying if he said living in the city was easy on the wallet. _Anyway, if they didn't want people to be interested in their lives they shouldn't be in the entertainment industry. They want us to love them and be interested in everything they do, so in some ways I'm doing them a favour._

-x-

Outside the Daruma-ya, Ren shifted Chojiro on his shoulder and fought hard, very hard, to ignore the overwhelming urge to swing his arm and allow his elbow to connect with the drunk's face. This urge was made even more difficult to subdue when said drunk vomited violently down the back of Ren's shirt. Disgusted, Ren threw the drunkard to the ground then all but ripped the ruined shirt off of himself, tossing it to the ground also. Shivering slightly in the autumn evening chill, Ren pulled out his phone from his pocket and scrolled down his contact list for the taxi company he used when his car was being serviced or he was unable to drive for whatever reason. Pressing the call button he hastily ordered a taxi for the pathetic excuse of a human being on the ground next to him. Gaze fixed on the man Ren, still on the phone, made the wise decision of not showing his back to him ever again, even during a call. _Attack me by surprise once, shame on you. Attack me twice, shame on me. _When his call was finished, Ren gave Chojiro his full attention. The Demon Lord made his appearance as he towered over the man, speaking in a cold, demanding manner.

"In a few minutes a taxi is going to arrive. It will then take you back to where you live and you will go back to your pathetic existence and stay there. You will not return to this restaurant ever again, and nor will you ever go near _her_ for as long as you live. Do I make myself clear?"

Still suffering the effects of drinking - and the sensation of all of the blood in his body rushing to his head when he was unceremoniously carried out - Chojiro failed to reply, however, he was saved from having to reply by Hibiki's entrance into the back alley.

That wasn't to say that he was saved from punishment and threats just yet.

-x-

Having safely seen his wife back to the kitchen and fixed her some strong tea, Hibiki had looked over the counter to see Ren carry a protesting Chojiro out of the restaurant. Unconsciously clenching his fist, he shared a look with his wife. Sachiko knowingly nodded, a bit of humour returning to her eyes after the shock she'd undergone. Clasping her hand briefly to offer some comfort, Hibiki ran over to his utensil wall, taking a long, thin knife, and went into the back alley. When he arrived he was surprised at the lack of blood covering the punk - he knew when he was younger he had a lot less control than Ren seemed to have right now and would most likely have roughed the boy up a bit. Eavesdropping on the exchanges between the two, Hibiki was surprised further - _He ordered a taxi for the drunken bastard? – _before letting a small smile escape his usually immutable features upon hearing Ren's threats. _Ah boy, you have a lot to learn about ensuring a loved ones' protection from the evils of this world without being caught. _

Deciding he'd heard enough, Hibiki strode over casually to the pair, concealing the knife he was carrying out of sight and, in its place, a glass mask of friendliness was shown, hiding the disgust and murderous intent that Taisho felt for this pathetic human being.

"I'm hurt young man." He said congenially to Chojiro, who stared at him apprehensively and confused. _Excellent _thought Hibiki, before continuing the monologue he'd been performing when necessary for years. "You come _all_ this way to my restaurant and you don't take the opportunity to sample any of the food I've _**pain**_stakingly prepared. You _**haven't lived**_ until you've had my pork …. The trick is to take a swine, any baka swine, by the throat and cut through its neck with a knife, a knife just…like…this."

The slim knife he'd taken from the kitchen seemed to appear out of nowhere as Hibiki swept it upwards, catching the end of Chojiro's fringe and dropping a few strands of hair from the ostentatious fringe onto the boy's lap.

"This knife is very sharp…if it isn't sharp when I use it then things get a bit…messy, and the pig suffers. It suffers for a long time, slowly bleeding to death in excruciating pain. Luckily it's just a pig so nobody cares, who could care about a piece of filth, getting what it deserves for the greater good? Who cares if someone like that dies?" Hibiki paused, knowing what would come next, knowing he'd been successful. Chojiro's eyes were wide and fear seeped from every pore of his body.

"Sssss…someone!" Chojiro quietly shrieked.

"Ooops did I say someone. I must be getting old. I meant if some swine dies. You didn't think I was threatening you, do you? I am sorry if you got that impression, after all, it's not like you did anything wrong by me. You didn't attack my daughter or my wife or cause a ruckus in my restaurant. There is no reason for me to consider you a disgusting, filthy pig, is there? You know what, as an apology, why don't you come back in and I'll make you a nice meal? I know where I can get a fresh pig to cut up for a meal." Then he smiled, smiled a smile so dark and dangerous that every person in any way linked to the physic pathway felt a tremor of fear. Chojiro, to whom the smile was directed, felt it to his very bones, fully convinced that Taisho would fulfil his threat. Seeing a taxi in the distance, he shuffled backwards and away from the malevolent gazes of his captors. Dead cold sober from fright, Chojiro quickly got up and sprinted to the car, ignoring the chafing of his damp trousers as he made his bid for freedom.

-x-

Kuon watched on, undeniably impressed with the old man's skill in dealing with his prey. Kuon thought that he'd been damn good at ensuring Tsuruga Ren's image remained squeaky clean whilst dealing with this little problem, but he now saw he had nothing on the man in front of him. His Demon glares and caution were nothing on the trouser wetting fear that Hibiki had induced. When the punk ran off Kuon walked over to Taisho and, wordlessly, they made their way back into the restaurant. Just before they entered, Kuon inclined his head to the big chef, acknowledging him as his superior. Hibiki gave him a considering stare, and, finally reaching a decision, he simply said, "You need a new shirt." It was probably the oddest form of praise he'd ever received, but Kuon was satisfied. He had Hibiki's approval. Of sorts. Actually it was more of a reprieve. Hibiki needed time after all to come up with a new threat for the boy.

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>GOMENASAI! Dogeza. I am so sorry that this took so long to upload but I really struggled with writing the fight scene, I even had to mock fight my dad to get it right. I hope the length of this chapter appeases a bit of your anger. I'm still writing the next chapter but I can't promise it being published soon. Really sorry.<br>Thank you very much for all your reviews, they are always welcome even those with criticism. I want this to be both enjoyable for you and me.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Kuu's stomach grumbled loudly as he made the homeward bound journey. His day, after such a wonderful start - hearing from his (insert necessary Oya-baka adjectives here) son - had been dismal and he'd barely even had two of his eight square meals. The various interviews and bits and pieces of filming had all seemed to take longer than necessary, cutting into his free time, and, thanks to his desire to maintain his public persona, he couldn't possibly ask the damned newbies to leave their adoration and compliments to themselves so he could leave and eat his humongous portions of food in peace. On top of all this, it seemed that whenever he did manage to find food and have the peace to eat it in there was always either a woman or a child in desperate need of food somewhere nearby. If he wasn't so much of a gentleman he would have cursed every one of them to suffer the same type of hunger that he was currently being tormented by.

Looking out of the window and realising he was only a mile from home, relief coursed through him and he could barely stop himself from drooling at the thought of all the delicious food he could cook once he reached his kitchen. Pulling into his drive he was made even happier by noticing his wife's car also parked up. _Excellent, I can cook for us and then we can relax in front of the TV re-watching Dark Moon with some wine while we snuggle. _He hummed cheerfully to himself as he opened his front door.

"Honey I'm home." He called out happily, waiting for her reply to help him ascertain her location in the house as he slipped off his work shoes. When no answer came he went in search of her and found her…in the kitchen. His stomach plummeted. He loved his wife, really truly deeply, she was and still is the love of his life, but honestly...he really, **really **didn't want to eat any of her concoctions tonight. All he wanted was a simple homemade burger with chips, with some pizza, and onigiri, and corn, and wasabi, and…(you get the picture).

Making his way into the kitchen the sight that greeted him almost gave him a heart attack, his darling wife was…was..._How can she? What have I done to deserve this?_

"Umm, dear...what are you doing?" Kuu asked nervously.

Julie glanced up nonchalantly from the fridge - whose contents she was emptying directly into a bin bag.

"Just getting rid of this rubbish." she stated coolly, staring keenly at her husband.

Kuu gulped. Julie had perfected that stare years ago and it never meant anything good.

"But NOOOOOOOO! Not the waffles, not the waffles! But you love waffles, why are you binning the waffles?" His hunger had robbed his ability to speak coherently.

"But honey, obviously this food is not good for you. So we should get rid of it and only have brain stimulating food in the house to help you. After all, it seems you're beginning to lose your memory in your old age." Julie explained calmly while continuing her vicious clearing of the large fridge.

Kuu immediately tried to wrack his brain for what he'd forgotten that had led to this heinous and traumatic rampage. _Our anniversary was two months ago, her birthday isn't until next year; we didn't have a date today because we were both working, I'm pretty sure it wasn't any of her "darling friends" 2__nd__, 3__rd__ or 4__th__ wedding... _

"I mean you couldn't even remember that your own precious son was who Kuon's in love with."

Confused at her words, Kuu began to ramble, barely understanding what he was saying.

"Darling, I know our son cares about his appearance and how the public perceive him, but he's not completely narcissistic, just a little infatuated with the fact he can be in an almost car crash and still look absolutely gorgeous when he gets out of the car."

"Honey, if you don't talk seriously about this to me I'm going to die in 15 seconds. One, two, three…" As Julie continued her countdown Kuu tried to figure out the cryptic comment. _Kuon in love with Kuon? Why would I know my son is in love with himself? Is that even possible? Lory would know, damn...where is the baka when you need him? _Then inspiration hit him, Lory + Kuon = last trip to Japan = Kyoko, Kyoko his other son.

"Kuon loves Kyoko!? But how did that happen?" Kuu asked with such genuine confusion that Julie knew he wasn't acting. She'd been married to him for 26 years, she knew his tricks by now.

"How could you not know?" She asked in a frustrated manner, dumping the bin bag on the floor. She sighed and sat down on a chair nearby, resting her elbows on the breakfast bar and messaging her temples at her wonderful husband's ignorance.

Recapping his entire trip to Japan, Kuu finally caught all the hints as to Kuon's feelings about Kyoko. _After all, the whole reason we used Kyoko in the first place was to get her to talk to Kuon and force him to meet me. And he wanted to know how she knew all about him when he was young._

"But, bbbbut Kyoko's far too young and it's too early in her career for her to be messing around with a boy…But the boy's Kuon so that'll be, no…errr." Confused by his two opposing views as a self-proclaimed Oya-baka to both parties, and his thought processes hindered by a lack of sustenance, Kuu collapsed into the other chair - pulling the bin bag with him - and unconsciously pulled out food to eat.

"I spoke with Lory and apparently Kuon imagined her in Mizuki's place in **that** scene...in fact, in all the romantic scenes in Dark Moon. Our baby's in love." With her final comment a serene smile graced her face. "Tell me all about Kyoko. I want to know everything about our future daughter-in-law." She continued after a moment with an eager expression, just, if not more forceful than, Kuon's puppy dog face. After all, he had to learn it somewhere.

"She's not happy with the idea of being a daughter-in-law yet, Julie." Kuu sighed, bitterly remembering Kyoko's less than enthusiastic response to his comment that she'd make a good mother. "She's been deeply hurt. I don't know the details, but she seems to be...broken over something, and until she can look those problems straight in the eye she won't be able to enter a proper relationship – she'd just be using it as a method to hide from the pain of the past."

"Then Kuon will free her." Julie answered the non-spoken concern with absolute confidence, with the kind of conviction only a mother's unconditional love can have.

-x-

Yashiro Yukihito was many different things according to different people. To Ren's fans he was the biggest block between them and their idol. To Lory he was a god send, the only person alive who could keep up with Ren's schedule. To his charge, he was a well-intentioned yet annoying friend who really needed to get a girlfriend of his own. To his family he was the baby boy. As the youngest child and only son in a family of six children, Yukihito's place in the family hierarchy, despite being the boy, was right at the bottom. Growing up he had to suffer through many female rants about love and male inadequacy. The only times he was free to act as a little boy was when he managed to watch his cartoons and play heroes and villains with his father. Otherwise he was treated as an honorary girl. Despite moving out of the family home and making his way into the entertainment industry off his own back - successful in his own right - he was still considered a little boy to his elder sisters. So when the youngest of his sisters came to Tokyo on a business trip, she immediately invited herself to stay at his apartment.

"Yuki, Yuuuuuuuuuuuki. Onee-chan wants breakfast in bed." Mari called out from the spare bedroom the morning after Ren and Kyoko's cooking lesson.

"So do I, can you make it for me Ane?" Yukihito called back cheekily from the kitchen where he was already preparing his breakfast.

"Humph. When did you start thinking it was alright to be so disrespectful to your elders, Otouto?" Mari asked as she entered the kitchen and began riffling through the cupboards.

"Just taking a leaf from your book, **Mari**." Yukihito teased.

"Mou, that joke is so old. Honestly, teasing me on my name, acting all 'rebellious' on me. How old are you Yuki-chan, four?" Finding some food, Mari made her breakfast and put on the TV to catch the weather report that was going to influence her wardrobe for the day. Getting on with his own breakfast while going through his work diary, Yukihito good naturedly ignored his sister in the way only family or really close friends can. His thought process was interrupted unexpectedly by a seemingly out of place question from his sister however.

"Don't you need to be at work already, Otouto?"

"No, Ren hasn't got a…wait a minute...you're not trying to trick me into giving you Ren's schedule again so you can try and seduce him are you? Because that was far too embarrassing." Yukihito asked, wincing at the memory. He'd never actually told Ren that **that** particularly enthusiastic fan girl was his sister. Mari laughed at the memory.

"Aww, Yuki-kun you know I was only doing that to tease you. I don't go after younger men...even if they are so unbelievably, at a Host level really, gorgeous." She answered matter-of-factly. "Actually I only ask because your boy seems to be on TV."

"He's always on TV."

"Arrogant much? But...I doubt he's ever been on TXN news for a fight in a restaurant before though." She replied offhandedly, turning up the volume.

"_**Once again I must stress that this footage has been verified for authenticity. It has in no way been doctored or filmed by a professional crew." **_The presenter assured before the camera cut to an obvious homemade film. Yukihito watched with concern at the fight between Kyoko and some stranger, which quickly turned to a mixture of horror and amazement as Ren joined the fray. _Where does he get these moves from? He's got to have been a hooligan when he was younger, was he in a triad, a Jiang? He's got to have been... Dammit it Ren, who are you under that glass mask you continuously wear?_

"_**Shocking stuff I think you'll agree, but who is the girl he is protecting? We have unconfirmed reports that she is none other than the young rising actress Kyoko, who starred as Mio in Dark Moon and is currently performing as Natsu in Box R. We now go over to our Entertainment correspondent Tanaka Hideki. Tanaka-san, how do you think this video will affect Tsuruga's status not only as Japan's No.1 Actor but his reputation as a gentleman, considered as one of the few left in the industry? **_

"_**Well that is difficult to say, Ren-san has built his reputation upon being mild and well mannered. What we've witnessed in this video directly conflicts with that image. As for his status as an actor, ironically enough this proves how great an actor he can be, as he's hidden this part of his personality for so long. Unless of course this is merely the tip of the iceberg and the rest has up to this point been covered up by his agency."**_

"Ridiculous! Lies, lies you jealous S.O.B, just because he's got more talent in his little toe than you do in your whole body!" Yukihito exclaimed as he grabbed the remote from Mari to turn it off…barehanded. **Bzzzt**. Mari grabbed it back from him and shushed.

"Be quiet! It's your job to know what nonsense they're spouting so you can deal with it. Anyway, they haven't finished yet."

"_**I understand Tanaka-san that you are actually outside the restaurant where these extraordinary events occurred?"  
>"Hai, I'm live outside the traditional restaurant, the Daruma-ya, located in the heart of Tokyo city. Now I will question the Okami and Taisho of this establishment for their perspectives of last night's events, and how and why Ren-san was here last night." <strong>_

_**The door to the restaurant was pushed open by the reporter and the camera gave a scenic sweep of its contents before coming to rest on two shocked individuals who, from their isolated presence inside the closed restaurant, had to be the owners.**_

"_**Hello, I'm Tanaka Hideki from TXN news; I would like to get your point of view of what happened last night in your restaurant with Tsuruga Ren." **_

_**Before he could continue or get an answer there was a noise off shot. The camera swung around to show a young girl with bright orange hair wearing a school uniform carrying a large canvas bag coming down the stairs.**_

"_**Okami-san, Tashio, is there anything I can do to help before I go to scho…?" She trailed off as she saw the camera crew, immediately and gracefully bowing.**_

"_**Good morning Okyaku-sans how might I be of assistance?"**_

"_**Are you the young lady that Ren-san saved last night?" Tanaka asked, eagerly striding closer to the girl like a lion after its prey.**_

"DON'T ANSWER KYOKO-CHAN, GET OUT OF THERE NOW!" Yukihito screamed at the TV, as if Kyoko could hear him. Surprisingly, perhaps thanks to the spectral plane Kyoko was attuned to, she started to adhere to his instructions. On the screen Kyoko could be seen slowly edging backwards.

"_**Ren-san? As in Tsuruga Ren? Why would you be asking me about Tsuruga-san?" **_

_**Unhappy with his less than willing interviewee, Tanaka moved forward, a hard edge creeping in on his voice.**_

"_**We have footage of Ren-san attacking a young boy in this establishment last night with you right in the centre of the conflict. How close are you to Ren-san, a girlfriend perhaps? Or perhaps a **__**devoted**_ _**fan?" **_

The emphasis placed on 'devoted' put no-one in any doubt of his true intention for the word, not even Kyoko's naivety could fail to understand the implications, especially after being given a similar comment by Sho the other week, shock and disgust radiated off her face.

"_**You are not welcome here, leave." Thundered a voice off screen. **_

_**The sound of heavy footsteps rang out until Taisho was visible in the camera lens, resulting in the operator backing away from the girl and her protector. Regardless of the now threatening aura surrounding the restaurant's Taisho, Tanaka was already out for blood, dodging left and right to advance on the girl like a determined predator. Like the prey she was, Kyoko turned and fled. The camera followed and ran out of the restaurant to go around the back, only to almost be run over by a bicycle demon who left skid marks on the pavement. **_

Mari walked to the television set and pressed the off button. Yukihito was just stood there gaping at the screen in disbelief. After a moment he seemed to get himself together, picking up his gloves that were in their usual place on the table next to the door and whipping out his mobile phone. Dialling from memory, he waited patiently as it rang.

"Good morning President, Yashiro-san here."

-x-

_The car was speeding towards him, about to impact, when it suddenly swerved and skidded to a stop. In a rage of anger that seemed to come from nowhere, he ran to the car and yanked the door open. Chojiro was inside. Snarling he grabbed him and dragged him out of the car before kicking him to the kerb. _

_Raining punches on the boy, a bloodlust haze took over him._

"_Kuon." Chojiro cried out pleadingly, except Chojiro was Rick now. And he was dead by his feet._

"_MURDERER!" A woman's voice cried out. _

_Turning around he expected to see Tina, Tina accusing him, crying, judging. Instead there was an angel, a beautiful blonde angel with tears streaming down her face from her bright blue eyes. She was coming closer and closer to him._

"_Why? Why?" She asked pitifully. _

_He wanted to answer but his voice stuck in his throat. Suddenly her wings turned black in an explosion of feathers and her eyes changed from blue to gold. _

"_You did this to me." She whispered sinisterly._

"_Kyoko...I'm sorry Kyoko, I'm so sorry!" He yelled, finally managing to regain his voice. _

_He begged and pleaded forgiveness, his throat hoarse from the screaming, but it was of no use. The angel's golden eyes pierced through him, and she had no reaction as one of her dark feathers burst forward from nowhere, its tip a long thin blade that tore through his heart, killing him instantly. _

Ren awoke with a jolt, automatically putting a hand to his chest to stem the blood that should've been flowing out. Realising that his fingers were dry he glanced around his room, disoriented. Adrenaline pumping through him, Ren knew that he couldn't stay in bed a moment longer. Almost running to his bathroom he turned the shower on and, ignorant of its temperature and his pyjamas, got under it to wash away the remnants of his tortured mind. As his breathing and heart rate returned to normal he washed properly and went about his normal morning routine, the usual stillness and quietness of the morning having the opposite effect than it normally had. Wrapped in silence, Ren's thoughts were quickly drawn to the previous evening and the…dream he'd had. He refused to think of it as a nightmare, as admitting it to be such would be a sign of weakness.

After Chojiro had been dealt with the evening had been perfectly pleasant - he'd even had the pleasure of making Kyoko blush when he entered the kitchen topless. Once he'd been clothed in a reject shirt of Hibiki's that had been a gift and too small for the intended owner to wear, the meal he'd been working on had been completed and eaten and, to an extent, praised. He'd helped with the clean-up of the tables and dishes and had listened to Kyoko talk about her exam results, and how she was hoping to complete her other two years' worth of work for her high school diploma in one year, so she could focus completely on her career.

"_After all, a newbie like myself cannot expect to get anywhere in this business without persistent hard work."_

Chuckling to himself he wondered when she'd realise that while it was true that no one succeeded in this business without persistence and hard work, she was hardly a newbie. Especially once Jump Note was in the cinemas, then she would most likely be a highly valued actor and wanted for many jobs.

As for the dream he'd experienced once he'd gotten home...Ren couldn't really understand why he'd dreamed what he dreamed. Maybe it was because he'd entered the bloodlust of his youth but without the safety net of acting. Maybe it was because of the return of Tina and the inevitable confrontation they must have. Maybe it was because of Hibiki's threats and questioning. Or maybe it was because the brain is an incredibly complex organ, and the path of the synapses are so intricate that they can become connected in any manner to form a dream during the REM cycle in response to the smallest stimulus.

Looking at the clock he realised how late it was, already half 7. He needed to go and pick up Yashiro. Ren was just taking his phone off charge and collecting everything he'd need for the day into his bag when there was a thunderous knocking on the door. Frowning slightly and wondering who it could be, he opened it to reveal an out of breath Kyoko with tears streaming down her face.

Seeing her large golden eyes filled with tears, Ren was hauntingly reminded of his dream. An apology was forming on his lips for what he'd never be able to say, but his words were discarded the second Kyoko cried out and flung herself to the floor in a dogeza.

"GOMENASAI Tsuruga-san!"

_This is getting very old very fast..._Ren sighed as he tried to figure out what on earth Kyoko could possibly feel the need to apologise for. Before he could respond to her however, his phone rang. He looked at the name of the caller, saw that it was Yashiro and began silently debating as to who he should deal with first. After a few seconds of though, he decided that it would be best to get Yashiro out of the way first, given that clearing Kyoko's imagination of whatever wrong she'd dreamt up could take much longer.

"Yashiro, I may be a bit late picking you up…"  
>"Ren have you seen the news?" Yashiro uncharacteristically interrupted.<p>

"Err, no, why?" At his feet he noticed Kyoko flinch.

_What's on the news that Kyoko could possibly think was her responsibility? Unless she's fulfilled my fantasy and left Sho in nothing but his underwear with the word 'asshole' written on his forehead in the middle of Ginza Shopping District...which, of course she hasn't. _Noticing Yashiro was still talking, he refocused his attention.

"…your little cooking lesson with Kyoko is on every major television station. Honestly, when you next decide to attack someone in a public place, a little heads up would be appreciated. And another thing…"

"WHAT? But how?"

"Your guess is as good as mine; probably better as you were actually there. I would ask Kyoko-chan but she's disappeared, and her guardians informed me that she's forgotten her phone at the restaurant as she left in rather a hurry. The President is already setting up a search party for her, so you don't need to worry, although we both know you will. As will the whole of Japan thanks to the video." Yashiro tagged on as an afterthought, due to the publicity issues he'd completely forgot how devastating this could be to the slowly blossoming relationship between Kyoko and Ren. It was universally accepted by those who knew the couple that Kyoko wasn't ready for the whole of Japan to think that she and Ren were anything other than sempai and kohai at the moment.

"Tell the President to call off the search, Kyoko's at my apartment."

"But...how? She only left the restaurant ten minutes ago and it's a twenty minute walk to your…oh...of course, I forgot that she was on her bicycle. Dear Kami...Ren, give the girl some food and something to drink, she must be exhausted. Then wait for the President's car, you won't be able to get out by yourselves as there are reporters surrounding yours."

Without so much as a word of goodbye, Yashiro hung up. Glancing down at Kyoko, Ren tried to wrap his head around the best way to get her off of the floor and to follow Yashiro's instructions.

"Mogami-san, you can't truly believe any of this is your fault?" He asked, half amused half wary of the answer.

"But Tsuruga-san if I hadn't…" Kyoko began mumbling to the floor in her most self-deprecating tone only to be cut off by Ren.

"Kyoko, it's not your fault. I am a grown man who can take responsibility for his own actions. I was the one who entered that fight, and you were only in that situation because you were protecting someone else - no one can fault you for that. If anyone is at fault it is me, I should have noticed someone was filming the event as I am more experienced with these things." _Damn, why is it that I always end up taking the sempai route to make her feel better? _He carried on, trying to protect their tentative relationship from the scrutiny it would soon be subjected to - which it had already been subjected to without his knowledge.

-x-

Stunned by the use of her name with no suffix, and desperately trying not to blush with pleasure at how it felt to hear her pronounce it - _Even if it was said in exasperation – _Kyoko's heart continued to beat rapidly, now due to Ren's presence rather than the over-stimulation of riding her bike at full pelt. She'd had only one thought once she'd escaped the reporter. Warn Ren! Common sense would have told her to phone the President to get protection, but of course, common sense was always quite whimsical for her. However, as she allowed herself to be escorted to the kitchen by Ren and forced to accept a drink, it finally kicked into gear. Well, Kyoko's version of common sense.

"What did you have for breakfast Tsuruga-san?"

"I had an onigiri, and very nice it was too."

"You just had a coffee and nothing else, didn't you?"

Kyoko and Ren stared at one another and it soon developed into a contest to see who would give up first. Luckily, or unluckily depending if you were of a competitive disposition or not, they were interrupted by an almighty knock on the door.

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>As usual I offer my sincere apologies for taking so long to update but I'm struggling with how I'm going to get through this drama before I move on to the next important plot development. Hopefully you will still enjoy it, I recognise that Yashiro's character may be a tad OOC in relation to the latest chapter which hints at the beginning of Yashiro and Ren's working relationship but as previous people have pointed out there have been times that what I've written slightly goes against Skip Beat. I'm trying my best to keep as much to the original as possible but I have no idea how the Cain siblings arc is going to go and I do know where my story is going eventually I'm just struggling to get to that point. So basically the point of this mini rant is to ask for your patience even though I probably don't deserve it.<br>Gommenasai multiplied by infinity for your reviews, favourites, follows and overall general support. Everyone earns 200 Love Me points :D


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Sebastian stood at the door, handed them both hats and sunglasses; he then motioned for them to follow him. Reaching the lift, they were surprised by the sudden appearance of the President, dressed in a rather nifty black suit with dark sunglasses. The two stepped inside and the usual elevator music changed to that of the James Bond 007 theme tune. Although the presence of Kyoko's canvas bag rather than a sophisticated gadget or martini (shaken not stirred) slightly ruined the overall effect, Lory still somehow managed to pull it off, as only he could. He said nothing until the elevator doors closed.

"We're going to the basement; in there are three cars and 2 body doubles for the both of you. We will all be riding in the silver Toyota. There is far too much to get through in too short a period of time for me to separate you, so I'm afraid you'll have to get over the fact that it isn't fancy or particularly big."

Neither Ren, nor Kyoko replied as both considered the smallness and sombreness of the Toyota a blessing, rather than a curse, in comparison to Lory's usual grand and bright limousine.

In the basement a large group of bodyguards were holding back a small army of reporters and paparazzi. With their heads bowed the 2 fake Rens and the real Ren used their height to provide some cover for the fake and real Kyokos as they made their way to Lory's limo, a large 4x4, and the Toyota. Ignoring the loud barrage of questions shouted out, one of the fake Kyoko's took a moment to whisper something into the real Kyoko's ear, which caused her to blush bright red. Ren noticed this and made a mental note to ask her about the blush later as he opened the car door for her and watched her duck in. He quickly followed suit and closed the door forcibly behind him.

-x-

Being roused at 7.23am after heavy drinking the night before, having achieved only roughly 4 hours sleep rarely puts the person being woken up in a nice or forgiving mood. Therefore, when Hielberg was woken by a stern looking Tina he was already prepared to commit murder or at the very least grievous bodily harm. His mood had not improved upon learning the reason he'd been roused, and although painkillers, food and coffee dealt with some of his immediate distress, he was in no way cheerful. So once Ren finally got in and closed the door to the Toyota, where Hielberg had been waiting, he snapped.

"Do you two idiots have any idea of the damage you've caused?" He uttered in a deathly whisper, both for effect and because of a persistent underlying headache.

A sudden feeling of inadequacy flooded Kuon, the guilt and fear of his dream demolishing the barriers he'd put up, reverting the calm and mentally prepared Ren to the 13 year old Kuon, hurt and angry before the director who was about to fire him. Memories of his final firing clouded his judgment, the unfairness and the fury it had caused that…that had led to Rick's death. The immature brat of his youth replied before any filter of maturity or greater experience could be put into place.

"As we have not been given the full brief, no, we don't have any idea of the damage we've caused…Director." Kuon defensively snapped back, the title of 'Director' spat out almost like a certain four letter word. At his response Hielberg looked ready to breathe fire. Kyoko's demons were in sensory overload from the dark auras surrounding both Hielberg and the long missed Demon King.

"Henry, Ren." Came the stern reprimand from the passenger seat.

Both of the men turned to see a severely irritated Lory giving them a look very much akin to the one he'd given Maria in the Actors centre after her interference with 'The Angel's Words'. The look of a father/grandfather figure expressing deep disappointment in his charge. Given the debt both men owed him, his reproach was successful and they both bowed their heads in chastisement, falling silent.

Kyoko's confusion and discomfort was great as she sat squashed between them. The uncomfortable silence that reigned over the car as it exited the garage and headed to LME building forced Kyoko's sincere and self-faulting nature into action. Despite the moving vehicle and the seatbelt restricting her movement, Kyoko performed a dogeza to the best of her ability.

"Gomen…I mean" Kyoko stopped, changing to English so the whole of the car could understand her "I am terribly sorry for my actions last night and this morning…"

"Mogami-san" Lory tried to interrupt politely.

"…I shouldn't have let Tsuruga-san be captured by cameras and let his reputation be put under such scrutiny."

"Kyoko-chan" Lory attempted again, a bit more forcibly.

"…I apologise with apologies, I completely understand that I am to be fired but I am so sor…"

"KYOKO!" Lory shouted, finally getting her attention.

Frozen like a startled rabbit, Kyoko neither blinked nor breathed as she awaited judgment. Satisfied that he wasn't going to be interrupted by anyone in the car, as the backseat was too chastised to speak and Sebastian…well Sebastian would never ruin his fun without good reason, Lory started to speak once more.

"I don't blame anyone for last night."

Hielberg 'hmphed' at this but restrained himself from further comment by pulling out a hip flask and taking hair of the dog that bit him. He felt he deserved it if he was going to get through the day, even if it was just after 8 o'clock.

"It is naturally unfortunate that neither of you noticed, otherwise we'd be better prepared. Be that as it may, we shall do the best we can given the situation. Luckily it will be a while before we will be building up anticipation for 'Jump Note', so it shouldn't be negatively affected by this. The main issues are to ensure both your characters come through this as cleanly as possible. Usually this wouldn't be an issue for you Ren." The tone of this final statement was of slight disappointment, causing Ren to subconsciously roll his eyes and Hielberg to snort. _Only Lory would be disappointed that someone has a squeaky clean public appearance,_ they both scoffed.

"However, Tanaka Hideki was the reporter behind the scoop, and he has been accusing things that even a magazine like 'Boots' wouldn't publish." At the name Kuon growled, his hands forming fists. Hielberg noticed and asked, annoyed.

"So what's his beef?" Lory opened his mouth to respond but an unrestrained Kuon let rip.

"He's was a two-bit wannabe actor until he lost the role of Morinozuka Takashi to me four years ago. After that his acting career hit a nose dive and he became an entertainment reporter for the main purpose of being able to criticise me whenever I show Japan how a real actor works. Nobody believes him but they keep him because the controversy gets viewers."

"Well they may believe now." Hielberg commented, pressing play on the DVD player attached to the head of the front passenger seat and bringing the nearby screen to life. The broadcast viewed by Ren's manager, Yashiro, earlier that morning flicked on, showing, among other things, Tanaka's attempted interrogation of Kyoko.

The next 12 minutes were spent in complete silence from the car, the crackly sound quality of the handheld camera and the smoother professional recorded 'interview' the sole noises echoing around the Toyota. Kuon's attention was divided between the clip from last night on the screen - _I suppose I should be grateful that I held back on him, although the response to this is probably going to be as bad as going fully after him_, and Kyoko - _can she see it, does she realise how much she means to me yet? _Vacillating between anger and concern, Kuon gave the two items of his attention a critical eye. Kyoko watched with a studious gaze almost as if she was reviewing one of her performances as Mio. Kuon came to the depressing conclusion that she was, once again, completely oblivious to his feelings.

She was, of course, oblivious, but not to her usual extent. Having come to some sort of terms with her own feelings, she was, instead, getting confused at Ren's actions, misinterpreting them and vehemently trying to restrain and reprimand her own. _Oh no, oh no, oh no! You can see me blush, oh no it's obvious. I'm such a terrible kohai, looking like I'm enjoying his concern too much. The whole of Japan is going to think I'm nothing more than a Ren-otaku, one of his insane stalker fans! But it's not like that, I know I have no more chance than any other girl, actually I have a lot less of a chance, so why would I ever try and ruin the tiny part I have in his life by throwing myself at him?_

At the appearance of Tanaka and his slanderous behaviour, Kuon lost any of Ren's composure and started firmly clenching his teeth and fists. _That S.O.B.! How dare he enter the Daruma-ya? Because of him I've no doubt lost any faith Taisho and Okami-san have placed in me. _

Kyoko lost the ability to watch once she appeared on screen; instead she stared resolutely at her knees in shame. _I should have done something or said something to exonerate Ren…Tsuruga-san. _Wincing at the faux par she'd mentally committed, she couldn't help but glance through her eyelashes at Ren when Tanaka suggested that Kyoko was a '**fan'**. The twister of her own demons that surrounded him upset her - _I knew he'd be angry. He won't accept my apology from earlier. Why should he? I didn't say anything and as a result let him be considered as __**that type **__of an actor. This is just another perfect example of why I'm good enough. _She took a moment to strengthen the chains around the box deep inside her with her most devastating reason yet – _I'm not even a complete a person yet._

Hielberg cut through Kyoko's self-recriminations and Kuon's ponderings (of whether he could cause an 'accident' where Tanaka lost firstly the ability to speak, and then possibly the ability to breathe) to address the situation at hand.

"Luckily 'Jump Note' is still fairly under wraps, so we'll have enough time for your reputation to recover before we begin publicity."

As he spoke the car came to a stop in the LME basement car park and he swung the door open, stepping out quickly and slamming the door behind him to relieve some of his frustration. Lory and Sebastian soon exited as well, with greater grace, giving Kuon a moment of privacy with Kyoko. Alone at last, Ren quickly covered one of her hands that were tightly gripping the edge of her school skirt and gave it a comforting squeeze. Her surprise at this caused her to involuntarily turn and look him full in the face, and he took the opportunity to give her a true smile, accompanied with a soft promise.

"We'll get through this Kyo…Mogami-san, and don't worry, I'll protect you from any more reporters. I swear it."

-x-

Hielberg continued his stern reprimand of Kyoko and Ren as they made their way with Sebastian to Lory's office, as Lory had managed to suspiciously disappear. The reason for his disappearance became obvious once Kyoko stepped into the office, only to be greeted by a fanfare, confetti and a group of cheerleaders all cheering "Kyoko number one, Kyoko number one."

Frozen due to shell shock, Kyoko merely stared as Lory appeared from behind the cheerleaders, wearing the costume of a renaissance court messenger. He guided her inside, a brilliant smile plastered over his face.

"Kyoko-chan, this is just a small show of how proud I am of you!"

Bewildered, she allowed herself to be kindly forced into a small throne and handed a glass of non-alcoholic champagne. She sat stiffly glancing at Ren, her eyes screaming 'WHAT, what on earth does he mean? Save me, Tsuruga-san!'. As Ren didn't have a clue, he could only offer an 'I'm sure he'll explain soon enough' look. Once Lory was satisfied that he had everyone's attention, he read his proclamation.

"Be it known, that on this day, Wednesday 17th of October, in the year of our Lord 20XX, did this young maiden, Mogami Kyoko, successfully get the too clean, too boring gentleman, Tsuruga Ren, involved in a piece of showbiz gossip. Not only will her actions encourage more interactions between himself and others, but also help him to one day better see people's good points and foster closer relationships; while also making him someone of interest to the public and his fellow workers in general. For this heroic and noble act we do unto her offer praise, and the reward of 500 Love Me points."

To end this dramatic declaration another fanfare sounded.

Unsure of how to respond, Kyoko continued to sit, not moving a muscle, on the throne. _How can the President say these sorts of things? Why is he so happy at such a damaging video and what people were saying about it?_ While Kyoko sat anxiously, Ren and Hielberg just sighed in exasperation. _Only Lory…_they thought, sharing a moment of collective annoyance before realising this and looking pointedly away from each other. Turning from Hielberg, Ren noticed a slightly uncomfortable Yashiro in the corner, no doubt displeased with the enthusiastic cheerleaders that were praising the very situation he was positive was going to give him a stomach ulcer.

"Now to business." Lory stated firmly, once the cheerleaders had cartwheeled their way out of the room and left Ren, Kyoko, Hielberg, Lory, Sebastian, Yashiro and Tina (who had been in the corner too shocked by the whole palaver) behind.  
>"I need to know exactly what happened with Chojiro-san after you removed him from the restaurant Ren. I've already spoken to Taisho, Okami-san and the young man in question, however, he hasn't been particularly useful as he was too frightened - muttering incoherently about some swine for some reason." At this declaration Ren, who'd managed to regain control of himself, graciously allowed Kuon to indulge in a nefarious chuckle. Lory joined him with a dark smile. As an employer he naturally disapproved of such behaviour from Ren, but as he knew of Tashio's little <em>invitation <em>to eat the chef's special dish, he couldn't deny his or Ren's pleasure at the fear it inspired in Chojiro. The boy certainly wasn't on his good list; no-one messed with his Love Me girls and got away scot free.

"I'm afraid, Kyoko-chan, you won't be attending school today." Lory continued. Still sitting on the throne, Kyoko's posture slumped slightly in disappointment. Noticing this, Lory immediately tried to remedy her downcast mood.

"I am sorry my dear, but you cannot maintain a low profile with the media in that school. Your class will be rife with people attempting to get any information from you, or strike a false friendship with you, to gain some reputation as being close to the girl who was saved by Tsuruga Ren."

Seeing sense, Kyoko nodded in acknowledgment, although she struggled not to turn strawberry red with embarrassment at the thought of being 'the girl who was saved by Tsuruga Ren'.

"I have more bad news I'm afraid. With the media's knowledge of your current residence, you are going to have to move. I already have an apartment set up for you. I wanted to put you in the same building as Ren…" at this both Kyoko and Ren hid their looks of pleased embarrassment, "…but that would put you at greater risk at the moment. Maybe in the future though…" He tailed off and looked pointedly at Ren, _- the future where you've finally got your act together and declared your feelings for the girl._ He pondered briefly what the possible combinations of Kyoko and Kuon's genetics would result in, and when they would finally provide him with more grandchildren to dote upon (he would be their Ojii-san whether he was their grandfather by blood or not) before catching a glance of Kyoko's false look of happiness and returning to the issue at hand.

"You will be able to move in this evening. Okami-san is already packing your things, and they'll be ready and waiting for you when you arrive. In the meantime you can spend your time working on Cara with Tina-san."

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>Thank you for all your support and your reviews, you are wonderful, amazing people and I wish I could fulfill my duty to you as a fanfic writer you seem to enjoy and spent my life chained to my desk and laptop until I have written to your satisfaction. 1000000000000000000000000000 LoveMe point to you all.<br>Instead I must beg for forgiveness. I didn't realise how long it had been since I updated until I just tried to update this and I realised I had forgotten my password. I am truly sorry I've been so negligent but I'm afraid I can't offer promises of another update for I while. I unfortunately am failing to be organised at the moment and when I have moments of clarity I am failing to have the right inspiration for writing. So GOMENASAI multiplied by a million, dogeza multiplied by a billion.  
>n.b. I have decided that Ren played Mori-senpai in a production of Ouran High School Host Club some time before Kyoko arrived in Tokyo because I think he would be an awesome Mori, after all he is tall enough ;) It is this part he 'stole' of the TV reporter. There is no reason to this I just really love Ouran and wanted to include it somehow. Maybe I should have the host club make a guest appearance...or maybe...just maybe I should focus on actually writing the story as it is before adding in random extras that would just delay story progression.<p> 


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